Regency Egyptian Revival Gilded Elbow 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.
- Regency Period - The Regency period in English furniture design refers to the period when King George III, was declared unfit to rule in 1811, and his son ruled as proxy as Prince Regent, until 1820, and then, after the death of his father as George IV until his death in 1830. The Regency period was preceded by the Georgian period (George I, George II, and George III: 1714 - 1811), and was followed by the William IV period, which only lasted until 1837 when William IV died as was succeeded by Queen Victoria.
- Elbow Chair - Another name given to a dining chair with arms, more commonly called a carver chair.
- Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.
For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.
Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
John Gee (English, 1779-1824), Regency side chair, c. 1820, faux rosewood finish, fine inlaid decoration, on turned legs with reeded seat tails, stamped 'GEE' and four sets of initials 'TB,' made by John Gee, chair maker and turner in Ordinary to George II
A marquetry inlaid armchair, Dutch, 19th century
A set of four Victorian balloon back chairs, mid 19th century, the chairs with a squared back and a shaped mid rail with a circular Celtic style motif to the centre, drop in seats and tapering turned and reeded front legs, splayed to the rear; upholstered
An early Colonial blackwood armchair from Gawler Tasmania, circa 1830, Note: Illustrated 'A Guide To Collecting Australiana' by Juliana and Toby Hooper [MacMillan Press, 1978] fig. 31, Australian Country Furniture' by Juliana & Toby Hooper [Viking Press, 1