Gothic Revival Armchair

by John Werry on August 29, 2007 · 0 comments

in Uncategorized

GothicChairMeeks 737578 Gothic Revival ArmchairComing up for auction within striking distance of my SUV is this Gothic Revival armchair ca. 1860. This chair is profiled in “The Big Book of Antique Furniture” by Lindquist (which I find to be a valuable reference for the $2.00 investment at Amazon.com) on page C-10. It’s nice to find the furniture you’re considering to purchase in books since you can find things that aren’t as they should be – as is the case with this chair. There is a missing finial at the topmost spire that is present in the photo from the book. You can see more detail on this chair at the listing, which associates this chair with the style of J&JW Meeks.

The “Big Book” calls this a “Gothic hybrid” due to the spool turnings and this design element puts it’s manufacture date at the end of the 1825-1865 date range associated with the Gothic Revival period. I have seen the Gothic Revival period being dated between 1825-1865, 1830-1850, and 1840-1865, so I will be conservative by saying it spanned all of those ranges. We’ve become accustomed to Meeks, Roux, Jelliff pieces in the Rococo and Renaissance Revival styles but they all produced Gothic Revival furniture as well during this era. We just don’t run across them as much as their pieces from the second half of the 19th century.

Speaking of Gothic Revival… A friend of Rare Victorian – David Marshall, owner of the Antique Room, has recently revamped his home decor, switching from Gothic Revival to Egyptian Revival. I know this because you can see it for yourself in the October issue of “Old House Interiors” magazine. Congratulations David on your house making the publication for the second time.

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