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Side Chair

A work made of walnut and 18th-century replacement upholstery.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of walnut and 18th-century replacement upholstery.

Date:

c. 1740

Artist:

Giles Grendey (English, 1693–1780)
London, England

About this artwork

A taste for new and stylish furnishings inspired by continental fashion played a prominent role in the evolution of design in 18th-century Britain. The growing wealth of aristocrats, as well as of an ever-expanding middle class attracted a growing number of British and foreign craftsmen to London. One of the largest and busiest cabinetmaking firms in the city was that of Giles Grendey. In operation from 1716 to 1766, Grendy’s workshop catered both to a domestic clientele as well as an export market that included Norway and Spain.

Grendey produced a wide variety of furniture that ranged from church furnishings to stylish, finely carved pieces like this side chair. The lines of the chair are curved in true Rococo style, from the crest at the top to the horseshoe-shaped seat and cabriole (double curve) legs. With its carved shells, pendant bellflowers and acanthus, and its urn-shaped splat (the pierced supporting form of the back), this side chair would have appealed to diverse customers, including aristocrats, merchants, and professionals.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Artist

Giles Grendey

Title

Side Chair

Place

England (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1735–1745

Medium

Walnut and 18th-century replacement upholstery

Dimensions

97.8 × 56.6 × 54.7 cm (38 1/2 × 22 1/4 × 21 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein Fund

Reference Number

1983.718

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/100712/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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