Antique oak chair with high back – chaise lorraine, 18th – early 19th century

Antique oak high-back chair – chaise lorraine

An antique oak chair with a tall, open back, a solid plank seat and turned front legs. The type is known as a chaise lorraine or Lorraine chair: a country chair from eastern France in the Louis XIII tradition, with straight back uprights that continue into the back, a top rail with a scalloped cut-out and a curved back board just above the seat. The legs are joined by an H-shaped stretcher with moulded rails; the front stretcher is finely turned. The chair is built with mortise-and-tenon joints secured with wooden pegs.

Why we chose this piece

It was the honest construction that won us over: wooden pegs instead of screws, hand-moulded rails and wear exactly where generations of use leave it, on the feet, the front edge of the seat and the lower rails. The seat has a deep, warm patina that brings out the figure of the oak beautifully. This is a chair you not only use but also place as an image: in a hallway, next to a cupboard or as an occasional chair holding a pile of books or a plant.

Style and interior

The chair naturally belongs in a French country or classic interior, but thanks to its clean, tall silhouette it also works well in a calm, minimalist or wabi-sabi interior. Combine it with limewash, linen and old terracotta, or with a plain white wall against which the lines of the back stand out.

Dimensions: to follow shortly
Material: solid oak
Style: country, in the Louis XIII tradition
Period: 18th to early 19th century
Origin: eastern France (Lorraine)
Condition: A well-used chair with a beautiful dark patina. The joints are secured with wooden pegs (photo 7). The feet are worn, and the rails and the front edge of the seat have small dents and worn patches (photos 3 and 4). In the lower block of one front leg there is a small shrinkage crack by the wooden peg (photo 7). The seat has scratches, small dents, a few old woodworm holes and a small spot of green paint (photo 6). Along the back uprights there are a few shrinkage cracks and small edge chips (photo 2), and on the top rail a few small holes and marks (photo 5). Here and there are small specks of white paint on the legs.
Price:
€ 275

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