Sofa
Maker & role
Unknown, Maker
Production date
circa 1840-circa 1845
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Object detail
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 88 x W: 246 x D: 64cm (H: 880 x W: 2460 x D: 640mm)
Credit line
Gift, through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2006
Caroline Simpson Collection, Vaucluse House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caroline Simpson Collection, Vaucluse House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Sofa, c1840-45
Description
The central crest of this Australian red cedar (Toona ciliata) sofa is in the form of an acroterion, (a stylised honeysuckle or ‘anthemion’ flower, conventionally used in conjunction with weathervanes and scrolls and a popular detail for bookcases, wardrobes and sofas throughout the 18th and 19th centuries) above an inverted waterleaf, with dividing reeding suggestive of a ’sheaf’ motif; flanked by sinuous reeded scrollwork part of which is raised to overlap the upper rail, and waterleavesthervanes. There is composite scrollwork above the turned and carved front feet incorporating a’centurion’s skirt’ motif (so named for its resemblance to the ‘pturges’, the fringe of leather straps that hung below the Roman military cuirass) that corresponds to the carved paterae on the fronts of the scroll arms, while the back feet are simply turned; the whole resting on casters. The crimson woollen damask upholstery of the seat, back and bolsters is modern, but appropriate. Though employing Greek Revival motifs, the long sinuous form of the backboard with its overlapping reeding evokes the Louis Revival style.
The definitions of sofa (var. ‘sopha’), settee and couch have become interchangeable since the 19th century, with contemporary dictionary definitions largely undistinguishable. According to designs published by Chippendale (the ...Director, 3rd edition. 1762) a sofa is a seat for 2 or more persons often at 2 ½ chair widths (this example, at almost 2 ½ metres long seats three easily) with arms and an upholstered back. The word itself, which appears in the Dictionarium Brittanicum (2nd Edn.) in 1736, derives from the Turkish ‘sofa’, a long padded bench, from the Arabic ‘supha’, the raised bench with carpets and cushions along the sides of a diwan, or reception room. Sheraton interchanges the term ‘squab’ for couch and sofa, providing a couch design for a ‘Grecian squab’ (The Cabinet Dictionary. 1803, pl. 50). For Sheraton the distinguishing feature of a sofa was its upholstery and reflects the rise of the cabinet-maker and upholsterer in the period 1790-1820, as suggested by the title of George Smith’s The cabinet-maker and upholsterer's guide (London, 1826). Sofas were a generic element in interior decoration throughout the 19th century, part of what Cornforth (1978) described as the ‘Quest for Comfort’. Colonial examples typically follow the Smith / Nicholson form with crested back rails, scroll arms, bolsters and exposed timber on the arm fronts and seat rail.
This colonial example is unusually long and takes up most of the southern wall of Vaucluse House’s little tea room. Though employing neoclassical motifs, the sinuous overlapping forms of the backboard evoke the Louis Revival style, and as such its placement ‘continues' the stylistic references from the drawing room to another ground floor reception room, albeit on a smaller scale.
The definitions of sofa (var. ‘sopha’), settee and couch have become interchangeable since the 19th century, with contemporary dictionary definitions largely undistinguishable. According to designs published by Chippendale (the ...Director, 3rd edition. 1762) a sofa is a seat for 2 or more persons often at 2 ½ chair widths (this example, at almost 2 ½ metres long seats three easily) with arms and an upholstered back. The word itself, which appears in the Dictionarium Brittanicum (2nd Edn.) in 1736, derives from the Turkish ‘sofa’, a long padded bench, from the Arabic ‘supha’, the raised bench with carpets and cushions along the sides of a diwan, or reception room. Sheraton interchanges the term ‘squab’ for couch and sofa, providing a couch design for a ‘Grecian squab’ (The Cabinet Dictionary. 1803, pl. 50). For Sheraton the distinguishing feature of a sofa was its upholstery and reflects the rise of the cabinet-maker and upholsterer in the period 1790-1820, as suggested by the title of George Smith’s The cabinet-maker and upholsterer's guide (London, 1826). Sofas were a generic element in interior decoration throughout the 19th century, part of what Cornforth (1978) described as the ‘Quest for Comfort’. Colonial examples typically follow the Smith / Nicholson form with crested back rails, scroll arms, bolsters and exposed timber on the arm fronts and seat rail.
This colonial example is unusually long and takes up most of the southern wall of Vaucluse House’s little tea room. Though employing neoclassical motifs, the sinuous overlapping forms of the backboard evoke the Louis Revival style, and as such its placement ‘continues' the stylistic references from the drawing room to another ground floor reception room, albeit on a smaller scale.
Accession number
V2007/12-1:3
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