Arm chair
Maker & role
Unknown, Manufacturer
Production date
circa 1850
Object detail
Production place
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 107 x W: 63 x D: 70cm (H: 1070 x W: 630 x D: 700mm)
Production notes
The armchair is attributed to Tasmanian manufacture however campaign furniture is not known to have been produced in Tasmania.
Credit line
Purchase, 2007
Vaucluse House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Vaucluse House Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Description
A rare Australian Blackwood folding (or campaign) armchair, without maker’s label or marks, that closely resembles the few known English examples of this type of chair. The chair appears to be of standard form for a mid-19th century armchair except for the unusually shaped side rails of the seat and the brass hinges visible at the base of the arm supports. These features enable the back to fold flat onto the seat while the legs fold under the seat frame once their locking rails have been released. Such folding or portable furniture was ideally suited to the mobile, settler society of colonial Australia and a range of folding or campaign furniture was brought to the country by emigrants as well as being produced by local cabinetmakers.
This form of chair is extremely rare – no other Australian examples of this type of armchair are known and only three similar examples are known from English or American collections. The chair was sourced in Victoria and claimed to be of Tasmanian production however while the timber has been positively identified as Australian Blackwood, no other pieces of campaign or folding furniture are known to have been produced by Tasmanian cabinetmakers.
Examples of folding or campaign furniture were characteristic furnishings of colonial households at all levels of society. The display of this piece at Vaucluse House contributes to the interpretation of its social history, with furniture of this type being used in private family areas, bedrooms or servants quarters.
This form of chair is extremely rare – no other Australian examples of this type of armchair are known and only three similar examples are known from English or American collections. The chair was sourced in Victoria and claimed to be of Tasmanian production however while the timber has been positively identified as Australian Blackwood, no other pieces of campaign or folding furniture are known to have been produced by Tasmanian cabinetmakers.
Examples of folding or campaign furniture were characteristic furnishings of colonial households at all levels of society. The display of this piece at Vaucluse House contributes to the interpretation of its social history, with furniture of this type being used in private family areas, bedrooms or servants quarters.
Accession number
V2007/18
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