16th -17th century 3 legged captains armchair

& our big furniture guys haven't even shown up yet......

 

Thanks next time I'll do that.

 

@con

good, that's a plan......
now...check back in later & see if brad or conrad or any other members.have more to add on this lovely artifact..

 

great thanks

 

And welcome to the forum, by the way!

 

Great thank you for the up date

 

Quoted from the message above:
"Its elaborate renaissance carving bares [emphasis added] the coat of arms of Middelburg, an important VOC port at the time, along with the date 1621."

I'm just curious but . . . where is Jean-Marie van Isacker located . . . or better yet where is she originally from (what is her "native" language)?

 

@James Conrad

James is an 18th century kind of guy, but he may have some light to shed.
The thing that jumps out at me is the balusters, which seem more 19th century than 17th century, but this very specialized chair is admittedly outside my wheelhouse.

 

Where is the bloody chair and who owns it.

sorry Davey...but that's on a need to know basis !!!

Bawhahahaha1!!!!!!!! LOL !!!!

 

Daveydempsey, thank you for the further information (location and gender) of Jean-Marie van Isacker (the person giving an opinion about the chair).

 

Thank you, I've read all that Jean-Marie has posted about this piece. Jean-Marie is a Gentlemen, I believe from the Netherlands. He speaks English, French and I believe Danish is his native language. My hope is to find more pictures, some dimensions and history of these chairs which seem to be extremely rare. I only know of two chairs, the one pictured in original post and another at Chartwell the home of Sir Winston Churchill.

 

Hmmmmm,not a clue. Very odd chair in that it has 3 legs but not turned, I have never seen a period 3 leg chair that wasn't turned. To my knowledge it is not known why or what exactly is the story on 3 leg chairs. It's a european oddity, there are no known examples of 17th century american 3 leg chairs which suggests they were not functional & built to perhaps show off the chair makers (turners) skills.

Hmmmmm, this story doesn't make much sense to me, a sailing ship that rocks with ocean waves & a 3 leg chair that is notoriously unstable?

 

when found in the Netherlands it could be Javanese. the three legged construction makes sense bacause they are all "as drunk as a dutch". in other countries it's geometry for yokels: three points define a plane; so it's also usable in kneedeep cow dung.

 

I would guess this chair is a victorian era whimsy, the seat appears much to "flat" to be period and the carving on the arms is weird. Why would one carve arm rests? so that if one did rest your arm there the carving would make an impression in your forearm? Uhhhhhhhh, nooooooooooo.

 

I know nothing about furniture, but think Jean-Marie is reaching. Found this peculiar:

During rough weather it could be fastened to the floorboards with pegs or rope.

'Could be'? Wouldn't it just stay put all the time? When the ship started to toss, then you'd secure it? And either pegs or rope? How does he figure?

More like a decorative corner chair, methinks.

 

"would guess this chair is a victorian era whimsy"

That's what I'm saying....

 

I don't think it's period, no. The OP chair is trying to be to many things at once which was typical in the late victorian period. A boarded seat & carved apron which would be typical on a joined chair and 3 legs which would be typical on a 3 post turners chair.
The Chipstone Foundation did a study on early chairs with most of the early examples of 3 post chairs are English.
"Men Shoveling Chairs"- 15th century Netherlandish Drawing


Stools with a different type of board-seat construction are depicted in the fifteenth-century Netherlandish drawing
"This allegory of social unrest jumbles together chairs reserved for the elite with peasants’ stools. Among the seating forms shown are stools with plank seats and stake feet, folding stools of the sort associated with church dignitaries, and a chair with shaved posts, a rush seat, and a joined back in-filled with latticework. The most important objects represented in the drawing are three-post, turned stools with board seats. "
To read article & see pics of early chairs
http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/569/American-Furniture-2007/American-Board-Seated-Turned-Chairs,-1640–1740

 

Well, that's pretty definitive! Great article.

I hope the owner didn't pay too much.