How To Tell Age Of Chair?

Chairs are something that has been in our lives for centuries now. Back in the day, chairs signified a sign of power and respect. Therefore only the upper class of the society and the head of the family used to sit on it. The others used to sit on stools or even on the ground.

Since then, chairs have evolved. Now chairs come in different designs, styles, and materials. Telling the age of a chair can be tricky sometimes. This article will tell you how to tell age of chair, so you can figure out if you have a hidden antique gem in your house.

Save yourself the hassle of intense research. Sometimes telling the age of your chair is very simple but sometimes is very tricky since many chairs with the same popular designs have been reproduced for many years.

How to Tell the Age of a Chair

To tell the age of a chair correctly, we have a look into some factors which will decide the age.

Tags and Stamps

The tags and stamps by the manufacturer are something that can help to determine the origin and age of the chair. Modern upholstered chairs may have a design name, the tag of the manufacturer, and serial number.

This information can be used to look for the chair’s manufacturing date on the manufacturer’s website. Most of the chairs which were produced from the 19th century to this date have stamps of the manufacturers.

Similar to these tags, the stamps are also essential. Tags help us with the serial number or model of the chair, and the stamps help us with the name of the manufacturer.

Upholstered Seat Filling

In the 18^th century, the manufacturers came up with a new design considering the comfort of the users. They decide to come up with armchairs to give the users a more comfortable experience.

These armchairs used to have fluffy seat cushions. Sometime after, the manufacturers came up with a better design with springs, padding, and webbing. Using these materials for stuffing the cushion stopped by 1900.

In the 1990s, upholstery foam and fiberfill came into the market and were used in the cushions since then. The materials used to stuff the cushions help to determine the age of the chair.

Style

The style of the chairs has changed with time. As time goes by, the choice and taste of people change. This demanded a change in the style of products. For example, phones in 2000 are not the same as today. They have become more advanced, and the design also changed drastically.

We can tell when the mobile was manufactured, looking at its style. Similarly, the style of the chair tells us when the chair was manufactured. If you are not sure about when your chair was manufactured, you can look at similar chairs on the internet to come to a possible conclusion.

Reproductions

As mentioned earlier, some popular models of chairs are usually reproduced multiple times, especially antique ones. This makes it hard to judge whether the chair is genuinely antique or just a reproduction. What you can do is to look for new or uneven joints. If you find it, then it is not an original.

Antique chairs were made in the 1800s; there is no way that antique chairs will smell like new freshly varnished chairs.

Look for Phillip screws in the chair. The chairs made in that era didn’t have Phillips screws installed in them yet.

If you find anything mentioned above in the chair, you can be sure that it is not a genuine antique.

Some Examples of Antique Chairs

To determine the age of the chair, you need to know the origin of the chairs. Therefore to help, we have listed some popular kinds of antique chairs.

Fauteuil

This chair is an armchair, a brilliant piece of beauty that was designed and made in France. The chair has open sides and usually is upholstered. The brilliant design was redeveloped during the reign of Louis XIV and Louis XV.

Moreover, this redevelopment involved some improvements in the chair, making the chair lighter, more beautiful, and fancier.

Bergère

This is a very comfortable chair, which was one of the first designs of upholstered arm chairs. What makes it so comfortable is the large seat, which is accompanied by very comfortable cushions.

The design involved having closed sides on the chairs. In some designs, the wooden parts were painted whereas, in some, they had the natural wooden color chair. A very few had gilded patterns as well.

Morris

These chairs have an elegant design and are manufactured by Morris & CO, a very renowned manufacturer. Along with sleek looks, the chair is also very comfortable. It has a cozy, large, and deep seat and also has a high backrest, which can be adjusted according to the user’s comfort.

The chairs resemble the modern-day recliner chair. This is why recliners are known to be their predecessor. The name of the chair Morris is kept after its designer William Morris.

Some Unique Styles of Chairs

This will increase your knowledge of chair designs and help you understand the chair’s origins and style.

Corner Chair

As the name suggests, these are chairs that are meant to be kept in the corner. They are designed so that it perfectly fits the gap of the corner of the wall. These have square seats, and the chair itself is a bit squarish in shape as well.

The chair usually has three legs to support it, and the back is extended upwards and to the sides to work as a backrest and armrest.

These armchairs typically have diagonally situated square seats. This is so that the chair can smoothly fit into a corner. The three legs at the back and the sides rise over the seat and become one with the arm and back arm support. This leg rests then ends in the top rail in a curved position.

Chaise Longue

Chaise longue is a chair that was developed in France. That is why the given name is also French. The name means a long chair in English. This chair was trendy in France in the 16^th century.

Although this chair was developed in France, the Egyptian and Greek civilizations inspired the concept. In the Egyptian and Greek civilization furniture with similar ideas were very commonly seen.

Savonarola

The primary figure of the chair is quite similar to the letter “X.” This chair is plane, has no backrest or armrest. It was meant to be a portable chair, quite similar to a folding version of the curule chair.

But as time went by, the design changed and became more massive and bigger. This resulted in the chair becoming less portable. Soon the chair did not have any folding mechanism, which further added to the portability problem.

Curule

The chair is inspired by the roman designs of the 6^th century BC. The beautiful design truly adds to the looks of the room. More so, the base of the chair looks like an “X” just like Savonarola chairs.

Legs of the chairs have a curved “U” shaped elegant design. The design of this chair inspired most of the modern-day chairs manufacturers.

Final Words

The age of the chairs tells a lot about the design and style of it. It tells you the whole life history of a chair. Just like a person, this information tells you the places it has been to, the things it has survived, etc. The origin of the chairs helps you understand the design and functionality.

We hope this article has provided enough information to teach you how to tell age of chair. To make this a fun read, we’ve also added some valuable information about the types and designs of chairs.

So next time you see a chair that looks interesting, make sure you follow the steps in this article to find out the age of the chair.