Bay Colony Antiques is please to offer for sale this wonderful set of 6 Mahogany Henkel Harris dining chairs. Henkel Harris continues to produce some of the finest home furnishings with exquisite attention to detail of timeless antique designs. Offered as a complete set of six, the chairs make an impressive dining ensemble while being equally well suited to a library, drawing room, or formal sitting room. Their ornate carvings and elaborately pierced splats give the set considerably more visual presence than most conventional sets of Chippendale or Queen Anne style dining chairs by Henkel Harris, Baker furniture, Councill Craftsmen etc.
Crafted in a traditional 18th century style, the chairs have a serpentine form crest rail decorated with Rococo elements like C scrolls and foliate carvings. The splat is pierce carved in an interlacing pattern with an appealing harmony and balance between the carved mahogany and the use of open space. The stiles are gracefully formed and have a molded edge which continues down onto the seat box, front legs, and stretchers.
We have lived with both Henkel Harris and 18th century dining sets. We prefer and currently have Henkel Harris chairs as they allow you to enjoy the beauty and character of traditional 18th century design without quite the same degree of solicitude demanded by period examples. While genuine 18th-century Chippendale chairs are often beautifully constructed, their age naturally warrants a certain mindfulness when used for everyday entertaining. By contrast, these Henkel Harris chairs are robustly constructed for modern use, allowing family and guests to sit comfortably and enjoy them without the constant concern one might reasonably have for the aged joints, timber, and accumulated history of an 18th-century original. We’ve tested each chair in this set and they’re all solid as a rock.
The chairs have a pink damask fabric with a floral and foliate pattern. The seats remain in very good overall condition with only a few minor signs of age and use. There are a couple of small stains on a few seats, the fabric has faded a bit to a lighter pink tone, and there is small amount of localized fiber wear but no rips or tears. In our opinion the set is 100% usable in its current condition but should you choose to have the seats reupholstered they are slip seats which can be easily removed from the frame and are about as easy of a job for any upholsterer one could find. The frames and finish are in excellent condition condition with our only notes being very minor surface wear.
The armchairs measure 26” wide arm to arm x 23 1/2” deep x 40” tall with a 18 1/2” seat height. The side chairs measure 22” wide x 23 1/2” deep x 40” tall with an 18 1/2” seat height.
