Help Identifying Swan Dining Chairs

I bought these chairs (8 without arms, 2 with arms) at Scott’s Antique Market in Atlanta, GA USA a couple years ago. The person said they were 18th century French, but I have no idea whether that’s true. I need help identifying and pricing these chairs, as we are redecorating and they have to go to a new owner.

A couple of them have cracked when guests have leaned back in their chairs, and when I have glued them back together, I have observed that there were no screws used in the construction, just wooden dowels. Most are in about the same condition as those pictured, a couple have cane seats that are a little looser, and the cane on one is discolored a bit darker. Several show signs of repair but all are nice looking, solid and functional.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Swan chairs 1 by Jimmy Guthrie posted Apr 28, 2024 at 7:58 PM

Swan chairs 2 by Jimmy Guthrie posted Apr 28, 2024 at 7:58 PM

Swan chairs 3 by Jimmy Guthrie posted Apr 28, 2024 at 7:58 PM

Swan chairs 4 by Jimmy Guthrie posted Apr 28, 2024 at 7:58 PM

Swan chairs 5 by Jimmy Guthrie posted Apr 28, 2024 at 7:58 PM

Swan chairs 6 by Jimmy Guthrie posted Apr 28, 2024 at 7:58 PM

Swan chairs 7 by Jimmy Guthrie posted Apr 28, 2024 at 7:58 PM

Swan chairs 8 by Jimmy Guthrie posted Apr 28, 2024 at 7:58 PM

 

JMHO, but I'm not seeing swans... I see stylized lyre-back chairs.

 

JMHO, but I'm not seeing swans... I see stylized lyre-back chairs.

 

JMHO, but I'm not seeing swans... I see stylized lyre-back chairs.

 

WOW, sorry about the triple-post.

(Is it just me, but why does it take soooooooo long for embedded media photos to load? That's why I kept hitting the post button, I thought it wasn't processing because the loading of the embedded media was taking so long and my reply wasn't showing up.)

 

it happens

 

Ha! That makes sense. I just said swans because I didn’t know how else to describe them. Lyre-back sounds good. Any idea on the era and/or valuation?

 

Think these mid-19th century and likely American. Some elements of empire styling. Value is variable based on how and where selling. Can't think it is much different than what you paid a couple years ago. As an individual selling, you probably can't expect a retail price.

 

Surprised (and a bit disappointed) to see, that you only sent that reply once

 

It is not just you.

 

it happens.

 

Thanks, @verybrad . I think I got a good deal when I bought them. They had been paired with a table but someone bought the table and didn’t want the chairs. The seller was ready to pack up and said, “Make me an offer and they’re yours.” I think I gave him $200 for the 10 chairs. Looks like people online are asking between 3 and 20 times that.
Here are some listings and some descriptive words I pulled that may apply to my chairs. If you have a sec, please let me know if these sound accurate: antique, 19th century, American, Federal period, handmade, hand carved, maple (burl/curly/birds-eye?), fruitwood, lyre-back, cane seat, saber leg.

Thanks again!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1427542978/antique-hand-carved-burl-maple-lyre

https://www.chairish.com/product/10775126/19th-century-cane-seat-fruitwood-dining-chairs-set-of-6

https://www.chairish.com/product/93...maple-birds-eye-maple-saber-leg-dining-chairs

 

Think you got a very good deal. These are not Federal but a mid-19th century transitional style. I think a style designation of late classical, not used much with chairs, applies here. The wood is mahogany with a book-matched flame (burl) veneer used on the backs. While a dealer would have a huge price on these, you do not have the clientele necessary to garner such value.

The market for 10 formal antique chairs is really quite small. You might be best off to try and sell to one of these dealers or consign to a good auction house. Keep in mind, that either is likely a wholesale market, with the buyer looking to ultimately make some profit. The value to this is that it would be a quick transaction with little effort on your part.

Otherwise, if you are in or near a large city (Atlanta?), you could try and market them yourself. I would think a target value of $100 per chair could be realistic. You might need to start a bit higher and come down. I know I could not get that here in my Midwest location.

Here is a set of 8 somewhat similar chairs sold by Neal's auction in New Orleans for $1220. Keep in mind that Neal's might be one of the best houses to sell such merchandise. Also note that they charge a comission (I am guessing at least 25%) to sell, as do all auction houses.

Lot - Eight American Late Classical Mahogany Dining Chairs (nealauction.com)

 

Thank you again, @verybrad ! FYI, I was mistaken about the quantity- there are 8 chairs total. I listed them today on Facebook marketplace here in Atlanta asking $700 for the set. Thanks so much for all your help!

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

I had the chairs listed for 6 weeks, dropping the asking price to $450 for the set. I got maybe 6 inquiries but only one person came to see them after 6 weeks. They decided the chairs were too small- a legitimate concern. I then messaged everyone who had expressed interest and said I needed to get them out of my house ASAP and would sell to the highest bidder. Only one person responded and said he was a couple hours away and would come tomorrow but would Venmo me the money to hold the chairs, and asked what my best price was. Simultaneously another person, not one of the previous interested parties, popped up out of nowhere and said they were coming immediately to pick them up. I said if you’ll pay $450 for the set, it’s a deal. When they arrived, it ended up being someone who taught my kids in middle school. The chairs were for his adult daughter. Small world.

So no action for 6 weeks, then a scramble at the end and a “full price” sale. I think everyone was happy, and I know they will take good care of the chairs. Thanks again for the help!

 

That was good of you to make the effort to get back to interested parties.

RANT:
I made an offer of $150 on a FB Marketplace item that was listed for $250 OBO. The seller basically told me to go to Walmart, if that's all I wanted to spend!
Four months later, I happened to see that he'd eventually lowered his price to $50 and it was listed as sold. Too bad for him... despite his rudeness, I would have still given him $150 for it, if only I'd known.

 

he did not deserve your consideration!!!

 

Congratulations, and thanks for coming back to update the thread!