{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O372177"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O372177/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HD2079/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HD2079/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2014HD2079","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KA4173","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O372177/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O372177","accessionNumber":"W.33-1934","objectType":"Settee","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Two-seater settee of mahogany with secondary woods, raised on cabriole legs with claw and ball feet, with a drop-in seat covered with stamped velvet, a double-chair back, with wide central splats, the arms carved with eagle finials. \r\n\r\nThe front legs are each carved at the knees with a shell above a pendant husk, under an arched moulding that rises to scrolls supporting a small central cartouche. The spandrel brackets are plain, with an ogee profile. \r\nThe front and side seat rails are cut on the lower edge with a shallow arch that springs from the spandrel brackets. The top edges are moulded.\r\nThe back legs are raked and plainly carved with pad feet and are continuous with the uprights of the chair backs. The central leg is in stained beech, veneered in mahogany on its front face above the seat rail. The two back seat rails are in elm, which has been stained, and have no arch on their lower edge. \r\nThe uprights of the two chairbacks are straight for approximately 10 cm, each carved as an elongated ‘S’ scroll above the straight section. These support a narrow crest rail carved with a shell, the top edge raised and scrolled at each end. Where the backs join, the waisted sections form a pierced teardrop shape. \r\nThe splats rise from a broad shoe, the top edge carved with a raised moulding outlining two shallow curves. The vase-shaped splats have a complex, scalloped outline and are joined to the uprights at mid-height with ‘handles’, which have an applied, carved, acanthus scroll on the front face.\r\nThe arms are raised on plain, backward curving supports, attached midway on the side rails. The front half of the arm rests are carved as eagle heads with streaming feathers. \r\nThe feet have countersunk brass castors. \r\n\r\nConstruction:\r\nThe seat rails are tenoned into the legs and uprights. The centre front leg is cut in exactly the same form as the side legs with the carving slightly adjusted at the top to allow for its frontal presentation. The angle of the block of the leg is visible behind the seat rail. The top of the leg is countersunk into the front of the rail by about 0.75 cm. Behind this the rail sits on the block of the leg and is braced with a cross-strut of dark-stained walnut running from the back rail. At the top of the countersunk section there is a small infill of mahogany. \r\n\r\nThe back spandrel brackets to the legs are simple triangles, each attached with two nails. The junction between the side rails and the back rail is reinforced with a quarter round section of walnut attached to both rails with handmade nails. The front corners are similarly  reinforced, with triangular blocks, also attached with handmade nails. \r\n\r\nThe arm supports are cut with a recess to sit over the seat rails and are attached with small nails at the base. The proper right shows a large machine-made screw, added from the inside of the seat rail. The arm supports are tenoned up in to the underside of the arms. The arms are attached to the uprights with a 'bird's beak' joint.\r\n\r\nOn the back, the ‘handles’ of the vases, which have broken away, are supported with continuous rails of wood, attached to the uprights with screws. \r\n\r\nThe drop-in seat has an oak frame joined by mortice and tenon joints and reinforced by triangular blocks at the corners, which are fixed with handmade nails. In the centre, an additional strut is tenoned between the front and back rails. The seat is now covered with a stamped velvet, now brown, probably cotton and probably dating from the late 19th century. The seat frame shows evidence of at least two re-coverings, one of which is the re-fixing of the current cover, which shows losses where it has pulled away from earlier fixings. The seat currently shows black and white chevron webbing, probably later than the coarse linen herringbone weave base cloth.\r\n","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"x40240"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"mahogany","id":"AAT12221"},{"text":"velvet","id":"AAT133711"}],"techniques":[{"text":"carving","id":"AAT53149"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[{"text":"Furniture","id":"THES48948"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"FWK","id":"THES48597"},"images":["2014HD2079","2017KA4173"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES342205"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"settee","id":"AAT38595"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"England","id":"x28826"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1725","earliest":"1720-01-01","latest":"1729-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Bequeathed by Sir George W Prothers","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"119","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"79.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"42.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"114.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"height of front","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Two-seater mahogany settee, English, ca. 1725","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["W.33-1934"],"accessionNumberNum":"33","accessionNumberPrefix":"W","accessionYear":1934,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-01-08","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-24","availableToBook":true}}