ANTIQUE ARTS & CRAFTS MISSION OAK DIMINUTIVE CHILDREN'S MORRISCHAIR WITH LEATHER SEAT CUSHIONS
With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this interesting and rare antique Morris chair. This chair is the ultimate collector's piece for those who are passionate about antique arts & crafts design. Antique Morris chairs are generally built with slightly oversized proportions as it is one of those rare forms of furniture that emphasis both style and function all at once. True arts & crafts Morris chairs are scarcely found in today's market as demand for premium examples far exceeds the limited supply available to the public. This has caused valuations to shatter conventional expectations with certain pieces by known makers crossing over the $10,000 threshold at public auction. What makes our current offering so intriguing is the rare size format in which it was designed. This chair is perhaps too large to be considered a child's chair yet not nearly large enough to be considered a standard Morris chair so we can only speculate that it was designed specifically for someone of adolescent size.
This chair is constructed from solid tiger oak lumber which was quartersawn from the original white oak timber. Mission oak furniture made during the Arts & Crafts era is often quartersawn to bring out the optimal amount of tiger stripping present within the grain of the oak. The frame is made to adjust with a series of incremental parallel notches which accept a horizontal bar allowing for the back reclining element of the seat to decline and find support at whichever increment is selected. The chair frame is incredibly strong in part due to the pegged construction and through tenon joinery present where the front and rear legs tenon through the arms. Two expertly crafted leather cushions serve to comfort whoever sits in this chair. There are two modern oak braces fixed to the back of the reclining chair support which help reinforce an old repair to the original chair back support and to help position the back against the crossbar. A series of spring mechanisms are secured beneath the chair frame as to provide a tremendous amount of seat support. The chair is finished in a wonderful original mission brown stain and the past century the surface has developed a beautiful and rich color. The chair measures 25” wide x 29 1/2” deep x 32” tall. The seat measures 14 1/2” wide between the arms with a 13” seat height.
