1840 Cedar Spade Back Dining Chairs with Octagonal Legs

• Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
• Octagonal Leg - Octagonal leg, also known as a faceted leg, is usually found on chairs and table pedestals made during the first thirty or forty years of the 19th century, though the design appears in some pattern books dating from the late 18th century. They are not uncommon on Australian colonial furniture of the period. The leg is turned, with the main body of the leg planed into a slightly tapering octagon between the upper and lower turnings. The leg was sometimes fluted or carved with foliage, although in colonial furniture it was more often plain. Octagonal legs are often found on elbow or carver chairs of the period, with scrolled arms sometimes known as Trafalgar chairs.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• chairs, sets of 4, style or period
  • all styles 501
  • bar back / Trafalgar back / spade back 53
  • Victorian 138
• chairs, sets of 4, timber - cedar 22