Whalebone and caned armchair, 1830
A rare and unusual carved whalebone and caned armchair, probably American, circa 1830, the shaped top rail surmounted by four whale teeth above a plain cross splat and five hand carved spindles, the arms with curved rests and spindle supports (four replaced with wood), above a caned seat, with shaped front rail and raised on slender shaped legs which form to the end support for the arms joined by six stretchers. provenance: Bonhams & Goodman, The Nancy Hall Collection, Sydney, 10 November, 2008
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- 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.
- 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.
- Rail - A term used by cabinet makers for the horizontal sections of the frame of an item such as a chair or settee which have a front rail, a back rail and two side rails, and also on a door or carcase, where the rails are joined to the vertical framings.
- 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.
- 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.
This item has been included into following indexes:
- chairs, singles - Georgian 553
- chairs, singles / pairs / threes, style or period
- furniture, material or decoration - whalebone 10
