Art Institute of Chicago

Pair of Hall Chairs

Back and seat panels: Canton (now Guangzhou), China; frame: England

Date

c. 1720-30

Medium

Backs and seat panels: lacquered and gilded Chinese softwood; frame: gessoed and gilded beech

Culture

England

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This chair, part of a set commissioned by British politician Robert Walpole for Houghton Hall in England, combines both Asian and European design elements. The back and seat are crafted from Chinese lacquer and mounted on an English frame of gilded wood. In the early 1700s Europeans could not replicate the distinctive lustrous finish of Asian lacquer, made from layers of dried tree resin, so they relied on imports of the material. The lacquered panels here were likely made in Canton (now Guangzhou) and shipped flat to England, where they were assembled by a furniture maker.

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