Features of a Chippendale Chair

Chippendale chairs are everywhere these days!  While the traditional replicas from the 1700's have always been in style (more or less), newer styles have been emerging in the past few years.  I did a little research into Chippendale to learn about the background and how to distinguish it from other styles. 

My Cliff Notes . . . Voila!

There are three styles of Chippendale chairs, all dating back to the mid-1700’s and named after the London Cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale.  The styles are:

Gothic

 

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Rococo

 

Chinese

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Okay fine . . I’m cheating with the one from Bungalow 5 . ..   Here’s the other line drawing:

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And here are the defining characteristics of all three styles:

1. Ball and claw feet.
2. Sturdy construction, although not always graceful or well proportioned.
3. The only ornamentation on Chippendale furniture is carvings.
4. No turning of the wood for the most part.
5. Chairs with carved backs that flared at the top (wider at top than bottom) with ladder like stretchers or splats that joined directly to the seat stretcher.
6. The upholstered seats of the chairs were wide.
7. The Chinese Chippendale style is basically straight lines, carved with Chinese fretwork or giving a bamboo-like appearance.
8. The wood used was mahogany.  Thomas Chippendale had decided that it was the only suitable wood.

Thanks to  Guide to Home Furniture  for the info and  One Kings Lane for the pics!

WHAT STYLE DO YOU LIKE?  For me it is all Chinese Chippendale, all the time