EARLY 19TH CENTURY, PROBABLY BRECONSHIRE

Welsh Windsor chairs made with two sawn arms are often joined at the rear with a long scarf joint as is the case here. Sycamore, the most common secondary wood used in Welsh furniture, is present in both the arms and the seat of this chair, whilst the highly tensile ash is used in the legs and comb rail. Seven long back spindles are fixed in the upright position, with the outer two slightly bent backwards to create a forward tension which resists backwards pressure and helps to hold the chair in tight condition. This form of back is a common alternative to those which have inwardly bent back spindles, as in the following lot. The octagonally shaped legs are morticed towards the centre of the seat, resulting in a wide leg splay, both sideways and backwards, giving great stability and, in common with the majority of Welsh Windsors, the legs have no connecting stretchers.

Dr B D Cotton, January 2004