| PLATE XLI | CHIPPENDALE CHAIRS |
Mr. K. Warren Clouston, describing the work of this period (The Architectural Record, Vol. VIII.), says: "Chippendale, above all things, was a chairmaker, and his chairs are full of variety, at first with the high back, cabriole leg and claw-and-ball foot of the so-called Dutch taste; then rising to lighter fancies, either with vase-shaped ornament, flowing ribbon bows, interlacing frets of Gothic tracery. But what matters it whether the rococo ornament then prevailing on the continent, the Chinese leanings of Sir William Chambers, or Strawberry Hill Gothic were adopted, when the different sources are blended in one harmonious whole? We give Chippendale the first place simply from his book, for the squat backs and ungainly chairs of Manwaring and the Society of Upholsterers, and the badly designed seats of Ince and Mayhew only serve to accentuate the work of the master hand."
The chairs chosen for illustration in this number are of the simpler patterns. It will be seen that they have very little ornament, and that this is almost entirely confined to the backs, the legs being in most cases square and plain. In the backs the same lines occur as in those made in the time of William III., but instead of the frame of the back being covered with silk, tapestry or other material, Chippendale's are cut open with fanciful patterns. Those with cabriole legs usually have claw feet and a shell or leaf at the top. The chairs in Chippendale's book are much more elaborate than those here illustrated or than those he ordinarily produced. This is naturally accounted for by the desire to induce customers to purchase the more expensive pieces. The simple square leg without taper is one of the distinctive marks of Chippendale's time. Later in the century, in the work of Hepplewhite and others, the legs were made more tapering and the whole chair much lighter and more elaborately ornamented to correspond with the Renaissance forms then in vogue. The turned leg is rarely found, although much used later. The shaping and ornamentation is generally confined to the front legs. Mahogany, as has been stated, was the wood most used, and the ornamentation was confined as a rule to carving. Inlay and marquetry, brass and ormolu were employed on other articles of furniture, but the chairs rarely have such ornament.
The rococo of Chippendale's earlier work, corresponding to the French of Louis XV. and XVI., was succeeded by a modification tending towards the severer Renaissance, influenced by the designs of the architects, Robert and James Adam, who gave their attention to the minutest details of interior decoration and furnishing, as well as the larger problems of architecture. Of Chippendale's contemporaries, Ince and Mayhew, who also published a book of designs, are now looked upon as most deserving to share his fame, although there are records of many others.
Hepplewhite forms a connecting link between this period and that of the more severe lines of Sheraton and Shearer. Sheraton was a skilled and cultivated man and an excellent draughtsman. Among the subscribers to his book, "The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book," published in 1793, are the names and addresses of no less than four hundred and fifty cabinet-makers, chairmakers and carvers, not including musical instrument makers, upholsterers and other kindred trades. This gives some idea of the extent to which such books were then employed, and the number of makers whose work is not now distinguishable and whose names are lost in oblivion. Following the work of these men came the "Empire" style introduced in France after the French Revolution.
Readers interested in the subject of the furniture of the Georgian period are referred to the recently published large collection of photographic plates, entitled "English Household Furniture" (see announcement in our advertising pages) from which our present illustrations have been reproduced.
Note.—The illustrations in this issue are reduced from large photographic plates in the recently published work, entitled "English Household Furniture, mainly designed by Chippendale, Sheraton, Adam and others of the Georgian Period. 100 Plates, illustrating 348 Examples." Bates & Guild Company, publishers, Boston. See advertisement on another page.