A characterful Victorian turner’s corner chair, circa 1870 to 1900, in the Dutch-influenced country tradition, of the three-legged type often known as a knitting or bobbin chair. The shaped, curved top rail is carved at the centre with a pretty scrolling foliate motif and sweeps around to form the arms, which are turned with ring decoration and supported on slender, ring-turned uprights. A fan of five turned spindles radiates from the central back post, giving the chair a lovely open, rhythmic quality. The triangular rush seat retains its good old colour and texture, and the chair stands on three turned legs joined by two tiers of turned stretchers, with a further pair of splayed side stretchers adding strength and a pleasing sense of structure. The timber, most likely beech and elm, has aged to a deep, warm brown with a dry, softly polished patina, and the seat carries the gentle wear and honest marks you would expect of a piece that has been used and enjoyed for well over a century. Chairs of this type were made to sit snugly in a corner or beside the fire, and they remain wonderfully useful today in a kitchen, hallway, bedroom or beside a desk, where their open form takes up very little visual space. Light, decorative and full of rustic charm, a most appealing chair in good original condition.
