Chippendale Mahogany Armchair - A Chippendale ‘Ribbon’ Back Chair - Walnut pre-Chippendale Chair

Walnut pre-Chippendale chair of c. 1740-50. Cabriole legs with scroll and leaf on knee, ending in pad feet. Top rail and upright meet in elegant scroll. Pierced splat designed to give four tapering uprights. Drop-in seat.
A chair of some quality even if possibly provincially made.
Note the outward sweep of back legs, terminating in knobs to balance front pad feet.
Another walnut pre- Chippendale chair with simple rbut similar back splat design. The square legs and stretchers suggest a later date -possibly 1750 - and the proportions are a little less ample, but this is nevertheless a  very pleasing chair. There is a drop-in seat and the front legs have a scratch moulding down the front corners; they are chamfered at the back.
An interesting chair of c. 1755 in mahogany, the kneed legs showing the country type transition to square straight legs from cabrioles. The scrolled carving of the splat is elegantlydone yet the chair retains the essential sturdiness of the period. The proportion is good and the back legs sweep boldlyback in the manner of earlier chairs.
Chippendale mahogany armchair of considerable quality. Cabriole legs, decorated with shell and scroll pattern carving on the knee, terminating in excellent ball-and-claw feet. The arms sweep boldly outwards,
terminating almost at right angles to the line of the sides in scrolls. A very well proportioned back splat, with the upper scrolled curves leading perfectly from the top rail, which is also carved with leaf patterns. Note the boldness and width of the fully upholstered seat which is covered in leather. N. B. Although this type is generally known as a ‘Chippendale’ chair it is interesting to recall that the ‘Director’ shows chairs with cabriole legs with scrolled feet, until the 3rd, edition when a plate of hall chairs shows the ball and claw foot, which was undoubtedly popular at this period.
Warning: Many high quality Victorian reproductions exist of this type of chair. These reproductions have a value of $25-$35 each.
Chippendale mahogany armchair again of considerable quality particularly in the carving of the centre splat and top rail. The straight front legs are reeded, as are the curving uprights. There is less sweep to the arms
and the plainer treatment of the legs reduces the value from the previous example. The boldness and width of the chair are particularly to be noted in that 19th century copies tend to be meaner in proportion. The
craftsmanship in the carving of the back splat is of a high order.
A single mahogany Chippendale chair of similar type to the preceding armchair but of bolder proportion. While the back uprights are reeded however,the legs are not. A scratch moulding down the corners of the front legs gives added lightness and the front apron is slightly serpentine. Note the very fine quality of the scroll and leaf carving which is pleasantly mellowed with age and lacks the sharpness of a reproduction piece. The overall proportions of the chair are extremely pleasing and demonstrate the ample size of 18th century seats.
Chippendale mahogany chair in the Gothic style c. 1760. Although the Gothic influence - and French influence also - are evident, it is only in mild form in this chair. In earlier versions taken from Chippendale’s ‘Director’ the Gothic designs are very much more exaggerated, with multi-arched backs and heavily fretted legs and stretchers. This chair is of high quality, good proportion and restrained, though rich, execution.
(Gothic and Chinese Chippendale chairs of high quality are much sought after).
Quality of design, proportion and carving
A mahogany Chippendale chair with the splat again showing the Gothic influence in the arching. The top rail is waved and carved with leaves, but the legs and stretchers are the plain robust design of the period.
A Chippendale ‘Ribbon’ back chair of c. 1760-70. So called because of the ribbon carving in the back. Due to the craftsmanship involved in executing these chairs they naturally command high prices and are relatively
scarce. The remainder of the chair is of typical Chippendale design, with fully upholstered seat which in some cases may be serpentine at the front.
It is interesting to note that although the period after 1730-40 is generally associated with mahogany, a well known example of this type exists in walnut, and walnut chairs are to be found of even later date.

ANTIQUE CHAIRS: CHIPPENDALE

Thomas Chippendale - rococo chairs, chinoiserie and Gothic chairs - Queen Anne chairs - mid-18thC chairs - Chippendale chairs reproductions
Chippendale chairs were originally produced in 1750-1780 by Thomas Chippendale.
Thomas Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, published in three editions (1754, 1755 and 1762) had a historic influence on mid-18thC chair design. In it, Chippendale applied popular rococo chairs, chinoiserie and Gothic chairs motifs to already fashionable shapes for both grand and simple household furniture. Few Chippendale designs were copied precisely. Chair makers at all levels -London, provincial and country - adapted and modified their designs to suit their own chairs, and their clients’ tastes and pockets.
Lower back Chippendale chairs than previously, with serpentine crest rails, generally ending in outward-curving scrolls. (Rounded shoulders rare.) Carved and pierced splats of varied design including rococo C-scrolls, ribbons (’ribbandback’ in 18thC terminology), Gothic arches, tracery and quatrefoils, scrolls and many other. Because of poor communications, chair makers outside London did not have full access to new designs. Thus provincial designs of this time may still retain stretchers, even when made in mahogany with the ‘new’ pierced splats and winged crestings. Similarly, Queen Anne chairs are still found on mid-18thC chairs with straight, Chippendale-style legs.
The time-lag between the evolution of a new style in fashionable London and its adoption by makers elsewhere gradually diminished as communications improved, but even so, in some areas local
preferences remained strong and individual types and designs of chair persisted for several decades.
Transitional chair will Queen Anne legs and stretchers, but Serpentine rail and pierced splat,
Above and below left, designs from Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director (1754).
interlacing patterns. ‘Chinese’ chairs with Chinese fretwork instead of a splat with a pagoda-shaped cresting. Space under arms of chairs sometimes similarly filled with fretwork. (Because of their fragility and because chinoiserie was often confined to bedrooms, not many of these chairs survive.)
Side uprights were flat and either plain or fluted. Carving not unknown, but unless of high quality and obviously by the same hand as the crest rail, be suspicious.
A design often seen today, but not illustrated in Chippendale’s Director, was the ladder-back, in which the pierced and carved horizontals echo the crest rail in shape and design. Thought to date from the 1760s
onwards.
Seats were flat and straight (dished seats not introduced for dining chairs until about 1750). Square corners with straight legs, rounded with cabrioles, the latter usually indicating an early date. Stuff-over (occasionally
with show-wood rail) or drop-in seats; stuff-over seats correctly finished with close brass nails, not gimp (a 19thC method).
Comfortably shaped arms with supports rising two thirds from back.
Front legs of Chippendale chairs could be cabriole, with foliate carving on knees and claw-and-ball feet, or, more commonly, straight, either plain or with simple mouldings. Sometimes chamfered inner edges. Blind fret-carving or legs composed of carved Gothic cluster columns occasionally seen on highest quality chairs. On both types, rear legs raked backwards. As a very general rule, the steeper the angle, the poorer the quality.
H-stretcher arrangement, the cross stretcher closer to the front than previously, with an additional higher back stretcher.
Corner brackets sometimes present at top of legs. Could be Chinese fret-work.
Mahogany was the fashionable wood for chair production with instantly identifiable when made in woods other than mahogany. Often less well-proportioned and slighter overall. Can have a top-heavy look. Simpler, less confident design of splats with very little, or no, carving. Legs often completely plain; cabrioles end in pad feet. Crudest versions may have wooden seat with side-to-side planking nailed to seat frame.
beech for stuff-over seat rails (see coNSTRUCTION). Oak, walnut, elm, ash and beech chairs were used too by country makers.
Victorian reproductions of Chippendale chairs.
Either rather clumsy mahogany chairs with too much, too ornate carving and bandy and too thin cabrioles ending in heavy claw-and-ball feet; or mean and spindly-looking with flat, shaped splats and no carving at all. Frequently ill-proportioned chairs with narrow seats, tallish backs and thin, shallow seat rails. Shoe-piece is often formed as part of seat rail. Rear legs seldom raked far back. On claw-and-ball feet, claw tends to perch on, rather than clutch, the ball.
More Chippendale chairs reproductions have been made of mid-18thC chairs than of any other period, but a distinction should be made between those ‘in the style of (as above) and genuine copies, whether intended to deceive or not. It was, and still is not uncommon for a good set of chairs to be enlarged. If this was done some time ago, it may be virtually impossible to identify the later chairs. However, as they were made from different timber, there will probably be a difference in weight.
Long sets of chairs were often numbered with incised Roman numerals on the seat rail. If these are present and are not consecutive, the set is obviously incomplete.
Occasionally, arms have been added to one or more single chairs in a run to make a more saleable set. Identify these by comparing the width of the seats  a true armchair is a few inches wider than a single.
The methods employed by London makers of the mid-18thC set the standards for virtually all wooden chair manufacturers until the present day. Principal features: With one exception, mortise-and-tenon joints through.
Modern reproductions of Chippendale chairs.
Modern chairs have a particular tendency to be smaller and narrower than originals, a necessity for many of today’s smaller dining rooms. If you are thinking of buying a set of old chairs to fit around a modern reproduction
table  or vice versa  it may well be worth marking out the floor to ensure that they all fit comfortably.

Typical Chippendale chair with cabriole legs and claw-and-ball feet. One quality oak armchair with pierced legs and ,stretchers.  Mahogany armchair with ‘Gothic’ splat.  Chinese’ chair Will pagoda cresting; ladder-backsimple provincial chair with wooden seat. 6 Victorian Chippendale reproductions.
Frame of side-chair; stretcher joints usually dove-tailed. Until about 1715, all joints pegged, but after that date those on backs and leg/stretcher joints only glued. Pegging on all joints appears on country-made furniture until much later.
Arms of chairs screwed to side seat rail and back uprights, the screws countersunk in a circular groove, their heads concealed by pegs or dowels. Pointed machine-made screws did not appear until about 1850 so earlier screws can be identified by their irregularities and blunt ends. If a hand-made or lathe-turned screw has been undisturbed since the 18thC, the wood around the head will probably be noticeably stained with rust.
Left, hand-cat screw; right, machine-cut screw.
The back splat tenons into the crest rail and into the shoe below, but is glued only at the top to allow some movement of the wood. The shoe is a separate piece of wood from seat rail. Sometimes the splat passes right through the shoe, tenoning into the rail below. On stuff-over seats, the shoe is removable to allow fabric to pass beneath and simply nailed on. A re-upholstered chair will therefore have more than one set of nail holes.
The crest rail over-rides the side uprights
when curving outwards, but is set between them on a chair with rounded shoulders. In this case, each upright is in two pieces.
Backs of chairs were un-decorated. In the 18thC they were designed to stand against the wall when not in use and in theory the backs were only seen by servants. This practice persisted even when chairs were more
often left around a central table  about 1830 onwards.
Drop-in seats were rebated and the frame strengthened by small, close-fitting triangular blocks glued into the corners.
Stuff-over chear seats with rails of beech or other softwood (beech being a softer and easier wood to hammer tacks into) were strengthened at front  and just occasionally at back too  with corner braces, strips of V2 inch/ 1.75 cm square sectioned wood about 4-6 inches/9-15 cm long which rebated into grooves cut in the rails. These have often been replaced at a later date with triangular blocks with a curving outer edge, screwed to all four corners. This was a post-1840 practice and will indicate either a later date or a later repair. If the latter, the grooves cut for the original braces will be clearly visible.
A stuff-over seat with a show-wood rail was also usually made of beech, the show-wood being either a strip of veneer or a carved (or gadrooned) moulding, glued and tacked on.
Fretwork brackets and railing of ‘Chinese’ (and some other) chairs were sometimes cut from laminated wood (a process normally associated with the 20thC). Layers of veneer were glued together, the grain of alternate
sheets running in opposite directions.
Early  Chippendale chairs added to either side of cabriole knees were simply glued on, therefore often missing or replaced. These were separate pieces of wood because cabrioles were cut from a single piece of wood and extra width at the top would have meant more wastage. Replacements are usually identified by slight difference in colour and grain of wood and by carving obviously by a different hand.
Straight legs are always united by stretchers, cabrioles never at this date.
Carving, principally on splats and top rails and knees of cabrioles.
19thC Chippendale chairs may be stained in parts to disguise the use of different batches of timber.
Value always depends on a combination of factors  well-proportioned correct design and quality of craftsmanship being the most obvious reasons for a high price. Repairs even when skilfully made  will detract from the value of the piece, especially if there are replacement parts.
The price of a good single chair of this period is often into four figures and in exceptional cases close to five. As a very general guide, a pair of chairs of any date is worth about three times as much as a single, a set of four six times, and a set of six or more at least ten times as much. Until fairly recently six was thought to be a desirable number for a set, but this has now increased to eight. Examine long sets carefully for ‘enlargements’.
A chair with arms will invariably be worth more than a similar chair without, though not as much as a pair of singles.
The value of sets of good Victorian or Edwardian reproductions of 18thC chairs has increased substantially in recent years. The price of each one may equal that of a single original chair, though the set as a whole will
be considerably less valuable than an original set of equal size.
The price of provincial and country Chippendale chairs is less predictable because of considerable variation in design, but such pieces seldom fetch more than the value of their more sophisticated counterparts.
If construction does not provide you with sufficient indication of date, look for genuine signs of wear.
The front stretcher and outer edges of the front legs will always show more signs of knocks than any other part. The undersides of the feet will be rubbed and the corners may be rough from constant knocks. The crest rail and uprights may show signs of repair where the chair has been damaged by incorrect handling.
It is, incidentally, always better to lift a chair by its seat, not its back or arms. Dirt and grease deposited by hands constantly lifting the chair will have stained the underside of the front seat and crest rails and will also have accumulated in the crevices of carving and around the joints. The undersides of seat rails on 19thC Chippendale copies were often stained to simulate dirt, but the handled areas will probably look lighter where the stain has rubbed off.

CHAIRS — Chippendale, provincial and country
Trying to arrange such a wide array of chairs in quality order is difficult, and dating even more so. Colour is important and personal preference plays a stronger part in assessment than for London-made pieces which
can be judged against known standards. What is technically not very successful (i.e. 152) can prove very appealing to live with, hence values are surprisingly uniform. Sets of chairs of this period cost about six times the single price for a set of four, and around ten times for a set of six.
One could speculate that the splat is a mixture of Chippendale (top half) and pre-Chippendale (bottom half), but the result is successful. The top rail flows convincingly into the splat. The shell is a pleasing touch and the cabrioles are very well made. The whole effect is successful. c. 1750
Interesting provincial example. The maker has obviously seen a high quality example but has been afraid to do more than a pastiche of the splat design; rightly because his shoulder supports to the legs illustrate his
limitations. What he has got gloriously right is the broad low back and big square seat that no Victorian would ever dream of producing. c. 1760
In oak, with fully upholstered seat. The maker has a reasonable grasp of the Chippendale idea but the splat is a little too broad and the effect is flat and stiff. Nevertheless a pleasing chair. c. 1760
A frequently encountered design which one might describe as provincial rather than strict country — in other words, rather a solid, solemn effect with neither the high decoration of the city example nor the character of
the country. c. 1760    Set of six $2, 000
Made in walnut at a time when most chairs of this quality were in mahogany. The splat is very successful — no carving except some simple gouging at the ends of the top rail. The deep rounded front seat rail and the
solid but elegant cabrioles make this a fine chair. It could pass for a chair from New York State of a slightly later date, and no doubt many do. 1750

CHAIRS — Chippendale, straight leg
For convenience of comparison, this page discusses only examples with straight legs. Some of Chippendale’s finest examples in fact utilised the cabrioles. Many of the backs are slightly lower and the seats slightly wide on some of the very good examples. The prosperous second half of the eighteenth century saw a proliferation of designs and some highly decorative workmanship. Styles include Gothic and Chinese and effects such as riband were used.
A superb museum quality example with top quality splat, the stretchers have pierced frets, and the rest, except the back legs, is blind fretted. Odd chairs of almost this quality can still occasionally be found.
A good Chippendale chair, whose finely carved top rail and decoration on the splat give it style. The legs are moulded and decorated with carefully carved notches, and the boldness of the four intertwining loops in the
splat corresponds to a design in Ince and Mayhew’s Universal System, 1759-1763.
Set of six $12, 000 — 15, 000
A chair of considerably less quality, it has moulded legs and an elegant and reasonably intricate splat, but the top rail lacks carved motifs and the effect is one of solid comfort rather than impressiveness.
An almost country interpretation of the design; the Chippendale splat and legs are there but the main decoration comes from the curl at the extremities of the top rail and the base of the splat, hangovers from the pre-Chippendale period . Compare the design of the splat with those of the three preceding examples. The interlaced strands are a bit close at the top and meet the top rather than flow from it. The chair is in walnut which supports the country made provenance.
Note may not be aesthetically a success but financially it makes the grade. It is precisely this lack of equation between quality and price that makes it essential for the collector to learn to discriminate. c.1770

CHAIRS — Chippendale, cabriole leg
Chippendale designed many chairs with cabriole legs. Country makers continued to use the cabriole with the newer type of Chippendale splat for some time, while a hundred years or so later Victorians made a wide range of imitations (see Chairs — Victorian reproductions).
An elegant chair in which the moulded cabriole legs have been refined down as far as possible without either losing the cabriole effect or damaging the overall proportions. This together with the good broad shaped front seat, the carefully executed ‘Gothic’ splat, all point to a chair of quality. c. 1760
A poor photograph of a reasonable quality cabriole leg chair. The splat is typical Chippendale. It is restrained and, as it is not covered in carving like 146, does not fall into the grand class. Nevertheless, with its good carving, well-proportioned cabriole legs decorated with cabochon and leaves, the use of a decorated edge to the scroll round the shoulder and the top of the rail it is a highly desirable chair. The scroll foot is excellently carved. c. 1760
Chippendale mahogany chair with pleasing splat, good cabrioles and carving that is very similar to pre-Chippendale chairs, moulded sides and carved top rail — a pleasant chair. c. 1760
Of less quality than the last example and interesting to compare them. The simple shell on the back rail, the less complicated splat and the claw which does not quite grasp the ball, all point to a more simple (provincial) approach, indeed the legs and back rail have not changed since the earlier part of the century, only the splat pronounces it Chippendale. c. 1765
Pre-Chippendale chairs
The Chippendale style didn’t suddenly happen with the publication of the Director in 1754 — it evolved. These chairs, all of which have some of the features associated with Chippendale’s designs, might usefully be grouped as pre-Chippendale. Many of them seem to contain a mixture of walnut and mahogany designs.