Conservation: Armchairs
Thomas Chippendale the Younger (1749-1822), Armchairs, 1787
Mahogany with beech supports
This set of chairs was selected for conservation work because the chairs were at risk. How and for whom they were commissioned tells the story of the collection’s connections with the 18th century transatlantic slave trade. Thanks to Museums Galleries Scotland and The Pilgrim Trust for grant funding for their conservation by accredited furniture conservator, Fergus Purdy in December 2022.
Background
Whilst in London, Patrick Home, first owner of Paxton House, lived in St Martin’s Lane just a few doors along from the Chippendale workshops and showroom. Patrick commissioned the Chippendale firm, then called Haig & Chippendale, to furnish both Wedderburn Castle, which he inherited in 1766 and had remodelled by Robert Adam around 1779, and his new London home in Lower Gower Street, near the British Museum from 1786. Several Chippendale pieces from the Gower Street residence came to Paxton after Patrick’s death: a sofa; these chairs, originally a set of eight, four of which are in the Paxton Trust’s collection; two mirrors; two pier tables and decorative carving. These are today in the Drawing Room and Ante Room at Paxton House. The chairs were described by Chippendale in his invoice as: ‘8 Square back Mahogany Armd Chairs neatly carv’d & Varnished – Stuffed & quilted in fine linen the backs and seats bordered £25. 4. 0’. When not in use, the chairs were to be covered in ‘Neat Blue & Buff printed Cotton Cases to Do. £5. 12. 0’.
Caribbean Connections
The chairs were made when Patrick Home was MP for Berwickshire between 1784 and 1796. Through his political connections, Patrick had, in 1769, supported his future brother-in-law, John Graham, to become Governor of Tobago, and later was to help his nephew, Ninian Home, the second owner of Paxton House, to become Lieutenant-Governor of Grenada. In the 1780s, following John Graham’s death at Wedderburn in 1782, Patrick also managed the estate of Douglaston in Grenada as part of group of executors until it was sold in 1790 along with around 140 enslaved people who lived and worked there.
Patrick was heavily indebted and borrowed money to pay for his new furniture, the remodelling of Wedderburn, and presumably any redecoration of his London home. After Patrick’s death, these chairs and other Chippendale made furniture and furnishings came to Paxton and were used by George Home, the third owner of Paxton, an absentee owner of Waltham plantation in Grenada, and later descendants who retained ownership of Waltham until 1848.
Leg Repair
Two chairs out of the surviving set were conserved in December 2022 to repair the legs which were very loose and wobbly. There was a real risk of collapse with the potential for much worse damage. The beech side seat rails and corner brackets had suffered from past woodworm which had been treated, but further consolidation was required. It was also found that the cabinetmaker in the Chippendale workshop had made a rare mistake when cutting the front mahogany rail mortise for the tenon to slot into. It was cut too wide by about 4 millimetres so was filled with a narrow piece of mahogany.
To repair the legs, the much later upholstery had to be removed and the collapsed webbing was reconstructed, with the existing upholstery reinstated without the metal tacks pinned through it visibly as had been the case prior to conservation.
Upholstery
In the future we aim to raise funds to re-upholster the chairs and matching sofa to the original design which will restore the correct upholstery and provide a unity and cohesion to the collection and display that is sympathetic to the exceptional craftsmanship of both the furniture and the interiors of Paxton House.