{"id":13867,"date":"2022-08-24T09:30:33","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T07:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=33883"},"modified":"2022-08-24T09:45:12","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T07:45:12","slug":"a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to shield back chairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Janet Gleeson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 24 August 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Wind back the clock two centuries or so, to a time when the dining room lay at the heart of every comfortable home. Conversation was as important as the food that was served \u2013 part of civilised life \u2013 and when the ladies had withdrawn, gentlemen spent long hours comfortably ensconced around the table. Chairs were essential to this way of living, and in the 1770s a new style of seat became fashionable: one that has remained so with few interruptions ever since.<\/p>\n

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A shield back chair at Inchyra House.<\/span><\/figcaption> GAP Interiors \/ The CONTENTed Nest<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u2018Shield backs are one of the most iconic chair designs,\u2019 says Neil Grenyer, furniture expert at Lawrences Auctioneers. \u2018Today they are invariably associated with the name of George Hepplewhite.\u2019 His book of furniture designs Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer\u2019s Guide (1788)<\/em> popularised them, but many other makers produced them.<\/p>\n

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The distinctive shape emerged from Robert Adam\u2019s neoclassical designs and the new, integrated approach to interiors that took hold during the late 18th century \u2013 quickly spreading from grand country houses to capture the attention of the wider public. As a cabinet-maker, Hepplewhite favoured this neoclassical style in furniture, aiming to \u2018unite elegance and utility,\u2019 and he provided other makers with a variety of designs to suit different markets. From the 1790s, Thomas Sheraton continued the trend, including shield backs in his published designs, and the chair has never lost its hold on the elegant interior.<\/p>\n

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A mahogany carver from a set of eight Hepplewhite revival shield back dining chairs, c1900, that sold for \u00a31,762 at Bonhams.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

During the Adam Revival of the late 19th century, leading furniture makers such as Wright & Mansfield and Waring & Gillow were among those producing high-quality shield backs. Versions also reappeared in the early 20th century. Sometimes elaborately decorated with finely carved motifs, shield backs were usually made from mahogany. \u2018But satinwood, painted with flowers was a popular alternative,\u2019 says Neil. \u2018And they were also made from stained beech, walnut and rosewood.\u2019 He suspects that part of their lasting appeal lies in their sturdiness as well as their elegance; many have survived, often in good condition.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Dating is largely a matter of experience,\u2019 he explains. \u2018There are some extremely good early 20th-century versions and they are almost impossible to detect unless you handle them. Look for marks of genuine wear and age, and for the signs of hand craftsmanship: 18th-century chairs were handmade, usually from solid wood, later ones were made by machine, sometimes using veneers. Hand-carved chairs will have slight differences even when part of a set.\u2019<\/p>\n

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These Hepplewhite-period dining chairs, c1785, are part of a set of twelve at Thakeham Furniture.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Value isn\u2019t necessarily just a question of age. Quality and condition are also crucial. Sets of eight, 10 or 12 are always desirable, especially if there are two carvers \u2013 although, be warned, sometimes two side chairs have had arms added at a later date. \u2018You will be able to detect this by the width of the seat: carvers should be wider than side chairs, if they are the same width, beware. Unless the chairs are of outstanding quality their visual appeal is key. This is particularly true of painted versions,\u2019 says Neil.<\/p>\n

\u2018A presentable set of 18th-century chairs could be \u00a32,000-plus at auction, but people are often happy to buy a good-quality Edwardian set, which will be noticeably less costly. They will probably also be more robustly built and better suited to the average-sized, 21st-century human body!\u2019<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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By Janet Gleeson Published: Wednesday, 24 August 2022 at 12:00 am Wind back the clock two centuries or so, to a time when the dining room lay at the heart of every comfortable home. Conversation was as important as the food that was served \u2013 part of civilised life \u2013 and when the ladies had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":13868,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/08\/a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs.jpg",1600,1065,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/08\/a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/08\/a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/08\/a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/08\/a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/08\/a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs-1536x1022.jpg",1536,1022,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/08\/a-guide-to-shield-back-chairs.jpg",1600,1065,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Janet Gleeson Published: Wednesday, 24 August 2022 at 12:00 am Wind back the clock two centuries or so, to a time when the dining room lay at the heart of every comfortable home. Conversation was as important as the food that was served \u2013 part of civilised life \u2013 and when the ladies had…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/13867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}