Elm Windsor Chairs with Provenance

Two Windsor chairs in elm' mid to late 20th century, each with…
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Two Windsor chairs in elm' mid to late 20th century, each with a hooped back and a pierced splat, also having double tiered spindles, joined by flat arms to the saddle seat. The whole raised on turned legs joined by a crinoline stretcher. One chair has the initials 'Wh', the other 'Amh' provenance: family property of Sir William Heseltine.

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This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Pierced Decoration - Ornamental woodwork with part of the background cut through and removed to produce an open-work pattern.
  • Stretcher - A horizontal rail which connects the legs of stools, chairs, tables and stands, to provide stabilisation of the legs. A stretcher table is any table with a stretcher base. The term is usually applied to substantial farmhouse tables, although many cabinetmaker's pieces, such as sofa tables, also have turned stretchers.
  • Saddle Seat - A saddle seat is a chair with a solid wooden seat, with two shallow depressions separated by a slight central ridge, suggestive of the shape of a saddle. However the term has been applied by designers and auction cataloguers to a wide range of seat shapes.
  • Turning - Any part of a piece of furniture that has been turned and shaped with chisels on a lathe. Turned sections include legs, columns, feet, finials, pedestals, stretchers, spindles etc. There have been many varieties and fashions over the centuries: baluster, melon, barley-sugar, bobbin, cotton-reel, rope-twist, and so on. Split turning implies a turned section that has been cut in half lengthwise and applied to a cabinet front as a false decorative support.
  • Provenance - A term used to describe the provable history of an antique or work of art, and thus an additional aid to verifying its authenticity. Provenance can have an inflating effect on the price of an item, particularly if the provenance relates to the early settlement of Australia, a famous person, or royalty. Less significant are previous sales of the item through an auction house or dealer.
  • Turned Legs - are legs which have been turned on a lathe. In use from the 16th century, turned legs on tables, chairs and cabinets became more frequent until, by the 1830s, the Georgian square or tapered leg was rarely found except in country pieces.
  • Splat - The central back support between the top rail and the seat in chairs and couches. They may take a variety of forms, and run either horizontally or vertically.
  • Spindles - Short turned pieces, used as stretchers or back supports mainly in cottage chairs, couches and day beds. Turned shelf supports and the railings used in the backs and arms of day beds during the late 19th century are also referred to as spindles. Until the coming of the industrial age, spindles, like all turned pieces, were made by hand, and should show some slight variation. With the introduction of the factory lathe, spindles and turned legs became quite uniform and standard.

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