Featured When was this settee made

Here are more photos.
It definitely has had some recent work done on the inside as you can see the upholstery straps and new foam and that light coloured timber but the timber of the external frame looks to be old as seen on the photo from the bottom.
You can see the areas that have been rubbed from hands and you can see a pinkish/light brown colour underneath.

 

Yes, it's fun.

Debora

 

I am not a pink person per se but I like this.

 

I'm not a "pink girl" either, but unlike most I rather like it in the hot pink. It's funky and I can see it in a young lady's bedroom easily, or in a really modern black and white room of any sort for that matter. Or a real Hollywood Regency room. Some decorator types would be all over it.

 

I have attached more photos showing a pinkish brown substrate.

 

Right we are in the antique catagory now. That is certainly gilt geso. That reddish clay is Bole. The sofa has been upholstered from the number of nail indentations in the wood and it seems over many generations. The nail in the back even looks old, maybe pull it out and see if it has a rectangular shank.

That would make it pre 1890. Machine made nails from 1810 - 1890 had rectangular shanks with round or T head, the only machining was shearing the shank from the rod and the head of the nail had to be made by hand, So machine/hand made nails 1810 -1890. Prior to 1810 nails were forged entirely by hand and had square shanks and so the head was meant to be be round but would resemble something more like a cauliflower or a squiggly imperfect round.

Post 1890 all nail were fully machine made and had round shanks and perfect round heads.Sheared rectangular shank nails are still made today as are t head nail used for flooring. If you can imagine a floor nail. In furniture however, the nail tells a more accurate tale. Also if you find a shank hole in the wood and no nail, there is another way to tell if the nail that was there was old, is the shank hole round or rectangular or square. Then if that doesnt work because the same hole wa used by a more modern nail, and since removed, you can tell by the dark carbon coloured rust left by old nails. That dark rust stain around the shank hole indicated an old nail, while brownish reddish rust indicates a modern nail i.e post 1890.

 

old round head nails.

 

The nail is in the bottom of the settee beside the front bottom crest where the black plastic cloth has torn.
How should I pull it out?
Also given it is in the bottom of the front piece is it possible it's an old tack?

 

Some of the nail holes look rectangular, I am not sure why they might use nails in that location, as stud strips even vintage ones are usually round.

If the nails comes out easily, then you might pry it out with something sharp. It is most likley just a modern nail left behind during one of the many re upholstery's the sofa has taken. Might be easier to look around for any nail holes. Finishing nails will have a T head shape.

This Shank hole look rectangular. This type of nail might put it into the 19th century a they would be pre 1890 nails.

 

Thanks for all your help.
The challenge is the piece is 'finished' all over. including the back. There is nothing else to see (although I will take a good look for any more holes).
I think to expose any more nail holes and original timber, I would need to remove that black plastic fabric on the bottom. Which would be difficult for me to replace. As I would have to pull out the staples and then re-staple. And would likely tear the fabric in the process (not expensive fabric I know).
Unless there some way to get just one corner off by cutting it and re-stapling? Idk?

 

I would wait until someone with more expertise comes online, It is a busy time right now for xmas and i am sure they are getting ready, but they will arrive eventually and will likley have a very good idea of its time period. The question for me is it from the 1920 revival or the 19th century Louis XVI revival peaking in 1860 that preceded the renaissance revival style in America. Many reproductions from the 19th century in Louis XVI style I find are always dated around 1880. However the peak was into the 1860's.

 

Thanks I really would like to know.

 

Hi Any updates on the age of this sofa, it's style.

 

The first thing I do when examining an upholstered chair is to pull off at least a corner and usually all of that dust cover. It serves no purpose and is stupid cheap if for some reason you want to replace it (three yards from amazon for $10 free delivery). There is no way to judge age without pulling that stuff off. Pulling a nail here or there isn’t reliable since upholstery nails are still made square. It is about construction and age of the frame, plus any vestiges of earlier upholstery, can only be seen from underneath.

 

Thank you Jeff. I guess maybe we wait and see if Gatoblanconbz is willing in to get some interior pictures

 

How do I get it off? There's a heck of a lot of staples

 

There are staple pullers made for upholsters that work incredibly well. But for occasional use you can use long-nosed pliers or even a fine screwdriver and pliers instead. Just grab the staple in the middle and pull hard. You'll get the hang of it quickly.

 

Then you can get a staple gun, they are affordable and re staple it. I have a table that i think is an origional Kingswood veneer Louis XVI but with Louis xvi stylem which has been popular at many different points through the last 2 centuries making hard to pin point.

 

What are the implications of not putting it back? It's not visible anyway