Gothic Revival Glastonbury Chair 1830 Oak Hall Throne Chair Richard Bridgens
An exceptional quality and extremely rare antique Glastonbury throne chair in wonderful condition. The finer of only two we’ve seen attributed to British architect and furniture-maker Richard Bridgens, this fabulous statement chair is dripping with beautifully crafted decoration, was likely made around 1830 and will enhance any interior with outstanding bygone grandeur, rich colouring and exemplary craftsmanship.
Made of excellent quality gorgeously toned oak, this impressively sized Glastonbury armchair is made in the Gothic Revival style and abounds with expertly crafted adornments to really grab the attention and please the eye.
It features a gorgeous and very rare, pierced lattice-splat back with carved rosette roundels framed by a reeded border topped by a pair of goat-like, leaf-hatted Green Man carvings, which is surmounted by a beautifully carved scrolled and pierced rosette crest rail ornament.
The shapely and chunky carved and grooved arms meander down over lovely decorative baluster finials, which along with pierced arm carvings can be most appreciated when seen from the sides.
This fine chair has a three-plank seat featuring lovely golden tiger oak grain striations and an outstanding lower section comprising of impressive X-framed chamfered legs, which are joined by beautifully turned tapering stretchers with delightfully detailed protruding roundels. Below the font of the seat is an outstandingly decorative scrolled and pierce-carved ornamentation, which really shows off the exemplary craftsmanship in the piece, with even the internal carvings having indent-carved rosettes.
RICHARD BRIDGENS
Richard Bridgens (1785-1846) was a distinguished furniture designer for George Bullock, noted for his Gothic designs for Battle Abbey, the home of Sir Godfrey Vassall Webster. Bridgens is also known for his designs in the Baronial style, which was inspired by Scottish Renaissance architecture and relied on the use of dark, heavily carved woods. He also worked for James Watt, furnishing such residences as Aston Hall in Birmingham and Abbotsford House, home of Sir Walter Scott, whose novels encouraged a romantic view of Scotland and bolstered support for the new national architectural style.
The pointers to Bridgens are seen in the etched plates in his 1833 book, ‘Furniture with Candelabra and Interior Decoration – Primary Source Edition, Richard Bridgens’, notably the roundels, rosettes, reeded framing and scrolled carvings in his Elizabethan and other chair designs in plates 41-45. The only other chair we’ve seen, which is almost identical but with lesser carvings, was listed as very possibly attributed to Bridgens by a member of the esteemed antiques association LAPADA.
All in all this is a breathtaking Glastonbury chair. It sings quality, has a wonderfully timeless design, being the perfect balance between simplicity and the ornate. The ideal statement chair, it will enhance any setting with exemplary quality and bygone sophistication.
CONDITION
This is in very-good-to-excellent condition. A beautifully crafted piece from excellent quality oak, it is sturdy and structurally sound and has only minor wear to show its impressive age, including to-be-expected nicks and bumps, a crack to the crest rail decoration and wear to a few of the roundels, but overall it’s in remarkable condition for its age and if well looked after it should be just as astounding and useable for many more generations to come – please see the photos.
MEASUREMENTS
Height - 107cm, Width - 66cm, Depth - 62cm, Seat Height - 42cm, Seat Width - 50cm, Seat Depth - 47cm, Weight - 12kg.
DELIVERY
UK delivery price quoted, collection also available from Warwick. Please CONTACT US FOR INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY QUOTES - the current International delivery quote is just a place-holder.
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