Lot Essay
An example of the Dutch ebony chair from which this has been copied is in the Gemeentsmuseum, The Hague, and published pl. 68, Jan Veenendal Furniture from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, Volkenundig Museum, Nusantaria, Delft.
This exotic seat, with arcaded back surmouted by an 'ancient' ribbon-fretted crest and heraldic Netherlandish lions, is lacquered with birds and flowers on a black ground. Its luxurious classical form and Oriental decoration epitomises the fusion of East-West taste brought about by Netherlandish East-India companies trading to the South China Seas in the 17th century.
Europeans at that time greatly admired black furnishings, and such gilt-enriched lacquer was prized even more highly than fine carved ebony for the furnishing of fashionable apartments, which might be dominated by porcelain-garnished cabinets.
The seat-crest with its finials of shield-bearing lions, emblematic of the Netherlands is fretted with mons-enriched ribbons, in the arabesque manner, popularised by the engravings of Hans Vriedeman de Vries (d. 1604). Its general form also relates to that of an upholstered back chair illustrated in de Vries Differents pourtraicts de menuiserie, of about 1580. Its back is supported by elegantly turned columns that form a double-tiered arcade framing sacred urns in the manner of a columbarium. Such skillful work was a particular speciality of the European guilds of Turners, and, combined with intricate carving, became a tour de force of craftsmen working in hard-grained ebony at Indian trading stations.
At a time when seat furniture was regulated by strict court etiquette, this form would have been described as a 'back stool'. Its ornament relates to that of beds and chairs, which were commissioned by Europeans in India, and which generally had richly flowered frames surmounted by the protective garuda bird. Whereas the 'X' frame of the European travelling chair usually folded sideways, this lacquered chair follows the Oriental front-folding form. Its original upholstery may have been of lacquered-black leather held by mons-headed nails, corresponding to those on the crest-rail, and were possibly accompanied by a richly fringed and tasselled cushion.
The Indian ebony chairs continued to be highly prized in the 18th century, by conniosseurs such as Horace Walpole (d. 1797), who considered them to date from the 16th century and associated them with the palaces of King Henry VIII; and were even more coveted during the 19th century.
This exotic seat, with arcaded back surmouted by an 'ancient' ribbon-fretted crest and heraldic Netherlandish lions, is lacquered with birds and flowers on a black ground. Its luxurious classical form and Oriental decoration epitomises the fusion of East-West taste brought about by Netherlandish East-India companies trading to the South China Seas in the 17th century.
Europeans at that time greatly admired black furnishings, and such gilt-enriched lacquer was prized even more highly than fine carved ebony for the furnishing of fashionable apartments, which might be dominated by porcelain-garnished cabinets.
The seat-crest with its finials of shield-bearing lions, emblematic of the Netherlands is fretted with mons-enriched ribbons, in the arabesque manner, popularised by the engravings of Hans Vriedeman de Vries (d. 1604). Its general form also relates to that of an upholstered back chair illustrated in de Vries Differents pourtraicts de menuiserie, of about 1580. Its back is supported by elegantly turned columns that form a double-tiered arcade framing sacred urns in the manner of a columbarium. Such skillful work was a particular speciality of the European guilds of Turners, and, combined with intricate carving, became a tour de force of craftsmen working in hard-grained ebony at Indian trading stations.
At a time when seat furniture was regulated by strict court etiquette, this form would have been described as a 'back stool'. Its ornament relates to that of beds and chairs, which were commissioned by Europeans in India, and which generally had richly flowered frames surmounted by the protective garuda bird. Whereas the 'X' frame of the European travelling chair usually folded sideways, this lacquered chair follows the Oriental front-folding form. Its original upholstery may have been of lacquered-black leather held by mons-headed nails, corresponding to those on the crest-rail, and were possibly accompanied by a richly fringed and tasselled cushion.
The Indian ebony chairs continued to be highly prized in the 18th century, by conniosseurs such as Horace Walpole (d. 1797), who considered them to date from the 16th century and associated them with the palaces of King Henry VIII; and were even more coveted during the 19th century.