Armchair, Walnut, Carved, Upholstered, Daniel Marot, Flemish, 17 Century Baroque

A fine, large, late 17th century, Flemish, open armchair in the style of Daniel Marot with an upholstered seat This fine, armchair is an, unusually, large size and the carving is of exceptional quality reflecting the status of the owner it was made for. It is sturdy and in usable condition. Chairs of this type, with tall, intricately carved backs, were placed in rows against a wall forming part of the decoration of a room. The carving of the back of this chair is French in style and was based on decorative prints by Daniël Marot

The cresting carved with a profusion of acanthus leaf scrolls. The back with fine, pierced carving. The mid-section with a central flowerhead with scrolled shields above and below ornamented with flowerheads acanthus leaf crestings. Two pairs of carved 'S' scrolls ornamented with acanthus leaves either side. The tapering turned sections surmounted by ionic capitals and supporting back of the scroll arms carved with acanthus leaf ornament. The front arms supported by baluster and tapering turned sections ornamented with acanthus leaf carving. The legs joined by a shaped 'H' stretcher with central finial, on bun feet. The upholstered seat reupholstered in a bargello woven in tones of blue, green, red and gold faced with braid and brass studwork.

The back of the chair has an incredible, 19th century, oak support from the cresting to halfway down the back, which has been beautifully carved to conform with the open sections of the back, and two braces down the length of the back. There are also two oak supports behind seat blocks at the top of the legs. These repairs are sensitive to the model of chair and have become part of its character and features in their own right and they are very interesting from a conservation history perspective. There are two old repairs to a small break in the cresting on the right hand side and the hairline cracks are visible, an old repair to a small break in the top right of the central splat with a small piece added and a visible hairline crack. The right side of the back has noticeable worm damage on the right seat block which is probably the root cause of the break on the block on this side from impact as the chair probably fell backwards at some point and either onto its right side or it hit something on that side and the block weakened by worm gave way as the damage to the chair is localised on the far right side. Because the backs are high on these Daniel Marot chairs they are top heavy and invariably do have damage to the backs and crestings from impact damage so this is not unusual. The right block has been repaired thoroughly and is stable and there is no live worm in the chair. It would be possible to disguise these repairs but I have left them as they are consistent with the 19th century date of the supports and conform with museum standards. A full set of photographs is available upon request. The back of the chair incised '10' indicating that it was part of a long set, probably 12 which was a standard size. Exceptional original colour and patina.

Provenance: Private Collection. Period armchairs of this calibre rarely come onto the open market. These are of the type that one sees either illustrated in classic reference books, or standing in grand country houses and stately homes, such as Knowle, Ham House and Penshurst Place. They are usually placed in symmetrical groups against the walls in reception rooms when not in use. This shows their magnificently carved backs, crestings and stretchers to full advantage, and creates an arresting visual display. These chairs are typical of the more elaborately, carved chairs which recall the designs of Daniel Marot who spent some years in England in the service of the King. Although they copied continental designs, many were also made in England by immigrant craftsmen. Although chairs with scrolled front legs continued to be made, in about 1690 vertical forms became fashionable. The cappings are often pear or mushroom-shaped carved with gadroons and below is a turned section tapered to a rectangular block above an octagonal or spherical foot. Sometimes the leg is enriched with mouldings, while small, sunk panels are found on the square sections. The stretchers on such chairs are not attached midway to the front legs but set back and tenoned into the side stretchers at a lower level. The seats were upholstered with sumptuous fabrics such as coloured Genoa velvet, silk passementerie and bargello which was very popular.