What can we figure out about this chair?

My weekend find. I fell in love with it instantly. It's a time machine, like all good antiques, and I knew we had to get acquainted. But most of my antiquing life has been spent almost exclusively in the world of mid-century modern and I know so little about these older periods & pieces. I want to change that.

Sitting on this feels like royalty on a throne. The burgundy velvet, original as far as I can tell, has wear but who cares -- I can't stop touching it! It's so smooth and soft. The back is some other material -- tapestry? There are no screws underneath, only small dark nails. The wood is smooth and timeworn and I love it. On the back of the "tapestry" (I think) back of the chair is more velvet, this an almost avocado or light pine green. The seat is sloped back a bit and very solid and comfy -- you could sit in it for hours and pretend you're king!

I've spent a day trying to find antique chair identification sites and charts, to little avail (although I found this forum, which is happy). I've looked at photos til my eyes hurt, and can't find anything exactly like it, so I don't know the make or anything else. But from all the looking I did in this crash course, I would venture to say that this is a french walnut Louis XIII style armchair. But I don't know how far off the bullseye I am. I'd like to know where and when it was made. Any thoughts? Thanks!

chair by Circa71 posted Jan 19, 2019 at 9:31 PM

chair by Circa71 posted Jan 19, 2019 at 9:30 PM

chair by Circa71 posted Jan 19, 2019 at 9:29 PM

chair by Circa71 posted Jan 19, 2019 at 9:22 PM

 

Hard for me to see any grain, so is it maple wood? Is it stained a bit darker?
Looks 1950s to me, but I guess it could be earlier, please wait for @verybrad and others who are more knowledgeable about furniture to chime in, thanks.

 

Think American 1930s. No identifiable style. Somewhat Spanish. Likely poplar or birch with a stain to mimic walnut.

 

In that case you'll have a great time reading old threads on Antiquers. There is a lot to learn there.
I can see how anything older than MCM would look antique to you, but this, like MCM, is considered pretty recent. Antique is 100 yrs and over. Which doesn't mean that we don't appreciate recent styles, we do.

 

Welcome, @Circa71 ! I like the upholstery on this chair a lot. It might be replaced. I can't tell from the photos.

Reading about old items that people love is one of the main things that keeps me coming back here. I love your post! Enjoy the chair -- and I hope it's comfortable for sitting, too.

 

Thanks everyone! I'm glad this chair is so comfortable, because I will have to sit in it for some time while I learn about these old vintage early 20th century pieces as well as "real" antiques, and learn to spot the difference ... I have some 1930s glassware and small appliances in the attic and they're pretty nifty, too, yet feel so much older than all my MCM stuff. I can't wait to get my hands on some stuff from the 19th century!

I'm thinking that perhaps this footstool, which I also snagged from the same place, is probably 1930s American then, too? I can't get a gauge on the material -- it's almost like a 1940s nylon freize, but it feels more velvety. Brownish maroon, and faded. More maroon than brown -- almost like a ruby that has sustained several decades of dust after the ballrooms and parties ended. But, like the chair, completely solid & serviceable.

footstool by Circa71 posted Jan 20, 2019 at 1:43 PM

footstool by Circa71 posted Jan 20, 2019 at 1:43 PM

footstool by Circa71 posted Jan 20, 2019 at 1:43 PM

This was the basement stuff. There were a few more pieces, including an ornately carved chair, but the padding on the arms was exposed and worn away and the material on the front of the seat was completely gone, revealing a stuffing of what looked like short pieces of hay! I passed on it. With my luck, that was the real antique!

 

Hi,
Sounds like the stuffing was excelsior. That is wooden shavings which after years of use breaks down into sawdust and broken sticks of straw or hay. It was a replacement for horse hair that disappeared when the cars and trucks replaced them.
greg

 

footstool also from the 30s or, possibly, 40s. Not sure exactly what that fabric is called but similar to a sculpted velvet.

 

Thanks, Brad! @verybrad