CHAIRS: REGENCY
About 1800-1840
(extending several years either side of the Regency itself, 1811-1820). Chairs made between about 1825 and 1840 are often referred to as ‘late Regency’ or ‘late classical’; those of the 1830s occasionally still ‘William
IV’).
Usually very elegant chairs, some based on previous Sheraton types, but many inspired by Ancient Greek klismos chairs, with their distinctive sabre legs. Nelson’s naval victories resulted in the inclusion of many naval emblems in furniture design after 1803, and in chairs is apparent in back supports carved as twisted rope. This has earned all sabre-leg chairs of Regency date the popular name ‘Trafalgars’, though correctly this only refers to those with rope designs.
Sabre-leg chairs: Flush-sided (will lie completely flat when on side), with two horizontal rails forming back supports set between side uprights. Uprights with neatly scrolled ends forming continuous curving lines with side Sheraton-style painted armchair, about 1810.
Regency ‘Trafalgar’ Chair Wwith rope back .sabre legs and drop-in seat.
seat rails and legs. Sometimes continuous reeding present on front/upper surface. Front legs of sabre form (see illus.), rear legs also outward-curving, but less pronounced. No stretchers. Crest rail may be deep and
flat, often with restrained carved or inlaid decoration. Lower support usually carved and pierced (in a great variety of designs). Either rail can be of twisted rope form, sometimes bordering section of other shape.
Cane-seated armchair similar to Trafalgar chair on previous page, with typically strolled arms.
Shallow, removable, upholstered seat (sometimes canework with squab cushion instead) contained within side rails and flush with rail at front and back. Armchairs with bold scroll arms curving down from lower part of crest rail several inches from front, but sometimes resting directly on it. Small rosette may conceal counter-sunk screw or pin on outer side of knee, strengthening seat rail joint. May not be original, but added later to disguise a mend.
Deep, broad crest rails over-riding side uprights introduced about 1820, though most post-1830. Later examples undecorated and may be curved in section for greater comfort. Actually a more correct interpretation of klis-rnos chair-back than previous form and known at the time as ‘Grecian’.
Many chairs made with similar backs but stuff-over seats and straight, tapering legs. These could be ring-turned or reeded or, after 1820, fluted, becoming thicker and clumsier with time.
Arms were of the previous Sheraton type, by about 1830 always curving straight down into the front legs.
Country versions with straight tapering legs of square section, still joined by stretchers, and planked, dished seats. Popular design for lower back support a double rail enclosing wooden balls. Some rope turning will
occasionally be found.
After 1835 designs became noticeably fussier, with shaped and carved crest rails, heavy legs and deep, moulded show-wood seat rails. Sometimes drop-in seats of sabre-leg chair type were incorporated.
Predominantly rosewood and mahogany. Elm, oak and fruitwoods for country chairs; beech
William IV chair with broad crest-rail and straight legs.
fiegency chair retaining elegant rope back but with straight hared legs.
Because of their relatively simple structure and design, a set of straight-legged chairs of this date is easy to enlarge by ’scrambling’  taking all the chairs apart, removing one or two members from each one  sufficient to make up a number of ‘new’ chairs  and by replacing the missing parts with new timber. The resulting set does not include a single totally new chair, but a large number of ‘repaired’ ones. This practice can be very difficult to detect without examining every member and comparing it with corresponding members in the rest of the set for colour, grain, finish, knocks, and so on. If openly done, and within reason, and reflected in the price, scrambling is not always
unacceptable.
and pine for painted pieces. Brass and ebony used for inlay.
Sabre-leg chairs: Back and seat rails tenoned into sides. Flat crest rails sometimes veneered. Legs and side rails cut from single piece of timber, the wood sawn across the grain, thereby creating structural weakness,
particularly below the knees. Check there for signs of repair. (Because of this design flaw and the technical difficulties involved in the cutting, country makers appear to have avoided sabre legs altogether.)
Drop-in seats sit on pegs rising from centre of front and back rails. Stuff-over seats rare and probably indicate provincial manufacture. Straight-leg chairs. Standard seat frame construction was employed.
On both types, the over-riding top rail is rebated into front of uprights and screwed from behind. Holes filled with dowels.
Ebony stringing and inlay on crest rails from about 1805-1815, thereafter brass. Alternatively, shallow carving flush with surface. Most popular motif for both types, the anthemion. Palm leaves also popular.
Gilt decoration on ebonised (black-painted) surfaces, mostly as simple lines and small rosettes.
Some sabre-legs painted and grained to simulate more valuable rosewood.
Polish, paint.
Always popular, so, despite sets being relatively common, prices are level with those of earlier Hepplewhite and Sheraton chairs.
Desirable features which raise the price include solid rosewood and brass inlay.
Grained beech (of which sets abound) cost considerably less than rosewood.
Late Regency/William IV, with over-riding crest rails, used to be a cheaper option, but they have become more popular.
Regency beech chair turned to simulate bamboo.
MOCK-BAMBOO
The exotic furnishings of the Prince of Wales’s Brighton Pavilion encouraged a fashion for simulated bamboo chairs made in beech and pine and painted in cream, brown or pastel colours. All members are turned, with
double collars representing the nodes of the cane. With caned seats, simple arrangements of verticals and horizontals forming the backs, and tapering legs splaying outwards towards the foot, these delicate little chairs were intended for occasional or bedroom use, not for dining. Crudely gilded modern versions have been made since the thirties for use by the hotel and catering trades.