Georgian Style English Antique Splat-Back Windsor Armchair

A fine and Georgian-style splat-back Windsor armchair, almost certainly of Thames Valley or High Wycombe origin.

The back combines a central pierced splat with flanking stick spindles of slender baluster profile, all surmounted by a shaped and moulded comb top rail of good outline. The pierced splat, executed with notable crispness, reflects the taste of the mid-eighteenth century. This fashionable inflection lifted the Windsor chair from purely vernacular production into the sphere of polite furniture. The curved arm bow sweeps cleanly to scrolled arm terminals, supported on turned arm stumps tenoned through the elm seat.

The elm saddle seat is well-hollowed with a pronounced pommel, retaining good patina. The front legs are cabriole with pad feet — a mark of quality in Windsor production of this period — whilst the rear legs are turned and splayed, the whole united by a bobbin-turned H-stretcher of characteristic form.

The mixed-timber construction typical of the Windsor tradition is evident throughout, the elm seat contrasting with the darker tones of the turned and shaped members. The chair retains what appears to be its original surface, with patina consistent throughout and no evidence of restoration.

Provenance: England. Late-19th-Century in the 18th-Century style.

Material: Indigenous tibers and elm seat.

Condition: The chair presents well overall and appears unrestored, which is a significant positive. The surface shows an even, rich patina consistent with age and use — no obvious signs of stripping or heavy repolishing. The elm seat has good colour with natural wear to the saddle hollow. The pierced splat appears intact with no visible repairs or replacements. The arm bow looks sound with no obvious breaks or patches. The spindles appear uniform and consistent. The underframe and stretchers look tight and original. The cabriole legs show appropriate wear to the feet.

Dimensions: Height 105cm, width 59cm, depth 46cm (41¼in high × 23¼in wide × 18in deep)