What do I have? Old Ornate Carved Wood Chair in X(?) Shape; Old? Where from?

[journeymagazine]

I found this at a friend's 2nd hand furniture store - he found it in a storage unit he won at auction. It had what looked like a custom made plastic cover that snapped into place & protected the wood & upholstry (the upholstry looks like new).

When I took the cover off I saw the wood for the first time - it is beautiful!

The only issue is there is a repair on the under side of it & they used staples to fix it?

How old is this chair? WHere is it from? I appreciate any info.

[journeymagazine]

Here is the rest of it as well as the repair

[eoma689485]

That's not the original upholstery, and someone spent a good deal of money to get it reupholstered, so it's a nice find.

It is late victorian and features a Green Man face (some may call it northwind face, but usually those have open mouths) with gargoyle arms.

I would toss out that plastic cover, they don't age well and that one looks past its prime, you may want to have another one made, but if you keep that one, remove it every once in a while and let the chair breath.

[eoma689485]

I believe it is a Victorian English Revival Arm Chair, but check the styles on the Internet to confirm, as I didn't handle much furniture in my Antique Store.

[journeymagazine]

Thanks - when I started looking it up, I found X chair & savanarola chair that looked like it. What are they & could it be one of those?

[journeymagazine]

Any idea what the wood is? Or where it's from? Is it from Italy?

Thanks again!

[eoma689485]

There is one similar listed on eBay...

19th Century Savonarola Throne Armchair

They are called X-Frame at times, and Savonarol or Dante in Italy and Luther Chair in Germany as they have an X shaped frame. So, you have a list of names you can call it.

The staple repair makes yours not the best choice to sit on, and if you are going to use it as a decoration, then it's fine, but if you are actually going to use it, It might be a good idea to have a professional look at it as it may need a more robust repair.

The majority that I have seen have been Oak, and I would think made in England or in the United States, but since these were popular at the time, a lot of companies in different countries would have made them too.