Lot Essay
Though the maker 'RG' is as yet unidentified, caned chairs were frequently stamped with the initials of the journeymen that made them. These stamps are often in multiple locations and suggest that these journeymen were paid by the piece rather than at a set salary. Caned chairs appeared in England after the Restoration and were a result of the import of cheap rattan from Asia, often used to secure cargo. This form became instantly popular as an inexpensive alternative to upholstered furniture and was praised for its 'Durableness, Lightness and Cleanness from Dust, Worms and Moths, which inseperably attend Turkey-work, Serge and other stuff chairs and couches' (A. Bowett, English Furniture from Charles II to Queen Anne, Woodbridge, 2002, p. 84).
Two closely related examples in private collections, with the same thick scrolls flanking a crown as well as a double paneled caned back, are illustrated in A. Bowett, (op. Cit p~98-99.)
Two closely related examples in private collections, with the same thick scrolls flanking a crown as well as a double paneled caned back, are illustrated in A. Bowett, (op. Cit p~98-99.)