Help identifying vintage/antique armchair

Hello, everyone. I found this unrestored vintage armchair in the back of a furniture store. If I buy it, it’s going to be very expensive to reupholster (with the arms and the full back), so I want to see if it’s worth doing. The salesman said it’s antique (specifically 19th century). The feet are similar to other chairs I’ve seen, but the Jacobean/barley twists are thicker than what I’ve seen. Also, I’ve never seen a carved ball shape on the arms like that.

What do you think? English? Is the wood walnut, oak, or something else? I apologize for the rotated photos. My camera was straight up when I took the photo, and they are all right sided up on my screen.

It’s roughly 41” tall by 27” wide by 26” deep. The entire backside is upholstered as well.

 

This shows the feet.

 

There is a stretcher, in the middle of the chair.

 

View attachment 297951
I just used my computer to flip them.

 

Hello!
It appears to be a renaissance revival armchair. Late 19th century.
Here is a similar example with those ball elements:
Why would you reupholster it? It's done really well and the fabric seems to be in perfect condition.
How much are they asking for it?

 

It is oak and likely English. Having this reupholstered would exceed the value of the chair. Do so only if you love it and plan to keep it. If done correctly, t will serve you better than a new piece.

 

Fabulous upholstery as is. The scale makes the chair. And condition doesn't look bad at all.

Debora

 

I'd just clean that. Vacuum with an old stocking over the nozzle end, give it a good brush, and repeat. You could try foam carpet shampoo if you test it first.

 

Thank you, everyone. This is helpful advice. I also appreciate the ball arm chair photo. That isn’t a design element that I’ve seen a lot of, which is why this chair intrigued me. I couldn’t post higher resolution photos here, but as I mentioned its barley twists are thicker than those on other pieces I have already. I love carved wood chairs, and enjoy getting pieces that have unusual designs. I am not, however, an expert by any means, and over the years I’ve dealt with sales staff at antique stores who don’t even know what kind of wood an item is. That’s why I’ve posted this here, as many of you are worldwide experts in vintage and antique furniture.

I’ve purchased a number of vintage/antique chairs over the years to reupholster them, and the reupholstery cost always exceeded the purchase price. I didn’t jump on this one because the acquisition cost seemed too high ($750) for a piece I wouldn’t put in a high profile place, such as my living room, as-is. The intent of the shop is to clean it up, reupholster it, and sell it for a lot more $$. They typically don’t sell unrestored pieces (as indicated, it was hidden in the back, and it’s not on their website). I’m a repeat customer so I got a pretty thorough look at everything. They will also reupholster it for me, but I presume that will add at least another $1k to the price (which is about what my upholstery shop will cost).

I’m also a bit leery because this is from what is supposed to be a very reputable, high end dealer. I asked if it was oak, and the salesman told me that it was walnut. I’m taking it on faith that this is late 19th century instead of, say, 1920s. Also, I asked if it was English and he said possibly, or possibly from somewhere else in Europe (Italy?). Unlike many of you here, I really can’t tell if a carved wood chair is 1880s Italian or 1920s English. I presume they get most of their pieces like this from estate sales, so I understand the lack of information. Ultimately the country of origin is not crucial to me (e.g. if it’s really Belgian that doesn’t matter), but I also like to know what I have; I can tell from looking at it that it’s an old chair made of wood. I expect more information from an antiques dealer than from a garage sale.

As for the upholstery, this is far from the worst I’ve had. One chair (I’ve posted it previously) was so awful and dirty it went straight from the antique shop to the upholstery shop. But, I got it for about $200, and it was a very old and unique looking to me (spool turned/bobbin chair) and I think it cost three times that to reupholster. It is an enjoyable and now comfortable chair that looks great.

This fabric is old and isn’t my style, and it’s a little frayed on the right arm (looking at it, on the right). I love the nailheads, but I don’t think the upholstery shows off the piece as well as it could. The chair is in great condition. Right now, though, I have so much stuff that anything I’d spend a significant amount of $$ on has to have a “wow” factor, not just “it’s nice.” I think with the right upholstery, it can be a “wow”! As much as I love the richness of leather, I think this calls for a light colored fabric, perhaps blue. I already have a pair of channel-backed Danish Art Deco club chairs in my living room, both in mohair, one brown and the other red (an enormous expense). I’m open to suggestions!

Thank you, everyone! I appreciate the input.

 

Jesus 750$ for a chair like that! I saw whole parlors go for that price.
Also 1k$ for upholtery? Wow literally wow.
In my country stuff like that would cost about 150$ to get upholstered.
No offense, It's a nice chair but certainly not worth that much.

 

Thanks. It is expensive for what you get, which is why I’m mulling it over and didn’t just jump on it.

 

That's a very high price. UK, the chair would be maybe £100-£150. Upholstery perhaps another £300.

 

Thanks. That’s good to know.

 

My Portland, OR upholsterer charges way more than that, but he is a conservator, using only museum-grade materials and techniques .Needless to say, I only hire him for the very special chairs! And yes, the cost greatly exceeds the value of the chair! ( I seem to have that problem with custom-made lampshades also....)

 

I did that with my Pa's clock. Had it restored by someone who was seriously good. And seriously expensive. Worth it.

 

Photo please.

 

It definitely depends on the piece.

We got an armchair/throne chair from my father in law. It was probably mid century (the stretcher didn’t show a lot of detail) but the chair was well built. The fabric was just old and stained, so I redid it with leather and nail heads. It cost a lot but we were going to keep the chair, so I wanted it to look nice. It’s not a chair I would have bought and done that to, because the cost far exceeded the value, but it’s one we were going to keep.

The spool turned chair I’d purchased a few years ago was fairly inexpensive to purchase, and it was unique. That chair was going to my office, as I wanted an antique chair but didn’t want to being one with sentimental value. My building was built in the 1950s, so I chose a more modern-looking, comfortable, durable fabric, and not one that I would have chosen for my living room.

I also had to redo a vintage Danish Art Deco channel back chair, and I did it in red mohair. That was super expensive but the chair is nice, it’s in my living room, and it goes with another one that was already done in brown mohair. I have a third one in the set with its original velvet burnout fabric. The fabric is in perfect condition, and it would be very expensive to redo, so I’ve left it as is.

This chair I posted is nice but borders on not being worth it to reupholster. I’ll see if I can get a better deal, and maybe wait to reupholster it.

 

I think I posted clock photos ages ago, but hang on.....

 

This was before.

 

I love it. It is like a upright, chubby pocket watch. The business part has a wealth of information. I'm not sure what the up dn 8--1 is all about though.