| used
| - Chair from a set of at least 6, of mahogany, with upholstered seat, the frame with cabriole front legs on ball and claw feet, the back 1750-70, the back carved with the crest of Eyre (an armoured leg).
<u>Design</u>
The cabriole legs have ball feet, each gripped by four bird’s claws, which, unusually, are pierced through at the lower end. The lower part of the leg is plain, rounded, with, above, a section carved with feathers (looking in places more like leaves), the top edges meeting the seat rail with additional, scrolled spandrel brackets. A lappet is apparently laid over the feathers, the edges moulded and scrolled into the ears of the cabriole leg with the outer edges carved as ‘reversed gadrooning’. The lower scroll of these meets an acanthus pendant, carved down the front of the leg. Below this, carved swags of fabric hang from a carved ring and appear to be looped back and knotted at the back of the leg, with carved tassels hanging down, all this forming the lower edge of the feathered section. On the knee, a scallop shell is carved over crossed palms.
The back legs, which are continuous with the uprights and square sectioned with a curving rake, are cut on the front face cut with a decided kick. The inner edges are chamfered.
The back is rectangular with a pierced central splat. The uprights taper upwards with an ‘S’ curve just below the junction with the cresting rail. The front faces have a moulding on the outer edge and are angled back towards the splat. This faces are carved with a foliated scroll at the base and a symmetrical device of scrolls flanking a shell.
The cresting rail is serpentine with outer corner extensions, heavily scrolled back in a tight paper-like scroll. The front faces of these are carved with acanthus and a small floral drop. The centre section of the rail is raised and is likewise heavily scrolled, the front carved with a scallop shell with crossed palms below.
The outer side section curves of the centre of the crest rail continue down, scrolling into the pierced splat, which is composed of two opposed elongated scrolls, enclosing a circle. This which contains a carved crest showing an armoured leg with spur on a torque (the crest of Eyre). Below this is a further pair of scrolls with a leafy pendant, which touches the base rail of the splat, carved with two half rounds, one each side of the leaf. The shoe, into which the splat is fitted, is of standard pattern with a moulded top edge.
<u>Construction, seat and condition:</u>
Mortise and tenon construction, the uprights and back legs continuous. The seat rails are tenoned into the back uprights and double pegged and tenoned into blocks above the front legs. The uprights are tenoned up into the top rail, the splat also tenoned up into this and down into the back seat rail. The shoe sits on top of the back rail and sits around the front three faces of the base of the splat, and the splat is pinned forwards into the shoe. The back seat rail is set with a single piece of mahogany veneer. This is broken away in places and may be a replacement.
The seat is upholstered in green silk velvet, now much faded and worn. Underneath a finejute base cloth is visible. The webbing is black and white chevron, 4.8 cm wide with 3 chevrons, with 3 widths back to front and 3 set laterally. All of these have broken through and loose horsehair is visible above.
The seat has rails of oak with softwood blocks attached with large handmade nails, these all late additions. The shaped spandrel block inside the proper right back leg is a replacement and the other back block is missing. There is evidence of old nails on the top inner surface of the seat rails. The spandrel blocks on the sides are lighter in colour and may be replacements. The shaped corner block inside the back legs are late additions.
<u>Damage</u>:
There is a fracture at the base of the splat. The front spandrel of the proper left front leg is missing. The end of a claw on the front proper right foot and small section of claw on PL are missing. (en)
- Chair from a set of at least 6, of mahogany, with upholstered seat, the frame with cabriole front legs on ball and claw feet, the back 1750-70, the back carved with the crest of Eyre (an armoured leg). (en)
- This chair is one of a set of at least six (W.32 to E-1922). The back is unusual in that it includes a carved representation of a heraldic crest, thought to be that of the Eyre family of Eyrecourt Castle, Co. Galway. Although crests were often carved or painted on hall chairs, they were not usually displayed on chairs intended for dining-room or drawing-room use. The early history of the chairs is not clear and needs further work. The same crest was used by the Earl of Newburgh in the Scottish peerage. The identification of the chairs as Irish is still tentative. It is based on their large scale and robust carving but more information on the history of the set is required. (en)
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