Decorative Chairs: Upholstery was increasingly used during the 18th century. "Easy chairs" began to be made; they had padded and upholstered backs, seats, and arms (and sometimes upholstered wings to shield the sitter from drafts). Upholstered chairs generally were covered with a hard-finished wool cloth, or with decorative chairs panels of needlework or tapestry. Since silks and velvets were very expensive and relatively perishable, they were used only in the grander houses.
An arched, carved and pierced cresting ornamented the back and the down-curved arms had boldly knuckle-carved hand grips. The earliest of these chairs were made from about 1700 to 1725. They took the place in better-furnished American homes of the elaborate tall-back carved chairs with cane panels, called Restoration chairs and widely made in England but only in limited numbers here. Because of its decorative chairs quality, the banister-back chair remained in favor especially in Ne~ England where it was produced as a side cha:-as late as 1775 or nearly a hundred years after the Restoration chair ceased to be made in England. |
