Antique Benches
A Very Fine William IV window bench / coffee table.
A Very Fine William IV window bench / coffee table. Excellent ... Find out more
A 19thc. Revolving Seat Piano Stool.
A 19thc. Revolving Seat Piano Stool. Fitted with splayed legs, a great looking stool in excellent ... Find out more
A Rare 19th c. White Marble Bench, possibly Scottish.
A Rare 19th c. White Marble Bench, possibly Scottish.
Decorated with Griffins and Ducks, a rare ... Find out more
An English Regency window bench of quite large proportions in mahogany
An English Regency window bench of quite large proportions in ... Find out more
A good antique garden bench
A good Victorian English antique garden bench made from cast iron. The wooden slats have been ... Find out more
An English 19thc. antique stool.
An English 19thc. antique stool in walnut, with superb carvings.
The proportions and attention to detail show the fine woodworking skills that have gone into this fine example of 19th century ... Find out more
An overview of antique chairs, benches 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!!!