Victorian French-style Walnut Balloon Back Chair
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Pierced Decoration - Ornamental woodwork with part of the background cut through and removed to produce an open-work pattern.
- Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.
The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 ? 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910. - Cabriole Leg - The cabriole leg evolved from an elongated scroll, curving out at the knee which may or may not be carved, and forming a serpentine shape as it descends to the foot.
First introduced into English furniture in the late 17th century, cabriole legs were widely used during the Queen Anne and early Georgian periods, where they frequently terminated in a pad foot or ball and claw foot. The style has had many imitators since then. The cabriole leg was re-introduced in the mid-19th century, and is commonly associated with the balloon-back dining or drawing-room chairs made in walnut, mahogany or, in Australia, cedar. The Victorian cabriole leg, on the whole, was rather more slender than the earlier form, following the French style, which emphasized the delicacy and daintiness of the chairs they were designed to support. Cabriole legs are sometimes found on windsor chairs, especially those made during the 18th century. - Serpentine - Resembling a serpent, in the form of an elongated 'S'. A serpentine front is similar to a bow front, except that the curve is shallow at each end, swelling towards the middle. The term presumably derives from its similarity to a moving snake or serpent. Serpentine fronts are usually veneered, with the carcase either being cut and shaped from a solid piece of timber, or built in the 'brick' method.
- Rail - A term used by cabinet makers for the horizontal sections of the frame of an item such as a chair or settee which have a front rail, a back rail and two side rails, and also on a door or carcase, where the rails are joined to the vertical framings.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A set of six Victorian walnut balloon back chairs, 19th century, the trefid crested chairs with relief carved embellishments, scroll and leaf form mid rails above serpentine stuffover seats and raised on curvaceous legs, with embossed light olive velvet up
A set of six Victorian balloon back chairs, mid 19th century, in the French manner, the waisted chairs with carved vegetal crests and pierced similarly embellished mid rails above buttoned stuffover seats upholstered in rich moss green velvet, raised on sl
A set of six late Victorian mahogany dining chairs, each with a shaped top-rail and open back above the drop-in seat, on moulded cabriole front legs. Height 85 cm. Width 49 cm. Depth 52 cm
A set of four Victorian mahogany balloon back chairs, circa 1890, of typical waisted form with a rounded crest, and a scrolled mid rail with a pierced floral motif above a shaped stuffover seat in olive green velvet, on a cabriole leg. Height 86.5 cm