Daniels Antiques

An overview of antique chairs and sofas

Antique seating can be split into several areas the first would be chairs. Chairs are probably the most common of all antiques, it would be rare to visit a home that has no chairs. Chairs come in many styles, a pair of wing back chairs, a library chair, a set of dining chairs, a desk or office chair, and piano chairs. All of which were made in a great variety of woods, but more often than not all were made in hardwoods be it oak, mahogany, rosewood, or walnut. The main reason of course for using a hardwood was that the chair was more durable when made in a hardwood, a pine chair would be easy to carve, but would not last very long- especially where the joints in the wood occured.

The majority of these type of chairs were all also made in the more popular design periods of Georgian, Regency, William IV, and Victorian periods. It is interesting to follow the design variations of antique chairs through the 18th and 19th centuries, from elaborately carved Chippendale dining chairs with pierced splat backs and magnificently carved knees terminating in ball and claw feet to a very simple Queen Anne chair with a scroll at the top rail, a solid but shaped back splat and elegant cabriole legs terminating in a simple pad foot. Chair designs mostly show variation through the shape and curve of the arms, legs and back, the shape of the foot (ball and claw, scroll, pad, square, etc.), and the carving on the knees of the legs and the front and top rails.

When you add arms to any of the above you end up of course with an arm chair, stretch it out and you have an antique bench or antique sofa.

The modern day home would certainly be a bare place without its chairs. How could one eat at the antique dining table without a set of antique dining chairs? How would the fireplace look without a pair of antique chairs to relax on? And how could I write this without a desk chair to sit on?

The simple chair covers a wide variety of shapes and sizes and vice versa!!!