Side Chair

This pair of caned Queen Anne side chairs are vividly decorated in a striking combination of yellow, red, and blue colors. Asian lacquer was much admired in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and a lacquer technique known as "japanning" was developed to imitate the work produced in both China and Japan. Yellow japanning, as in these chairs, is less common than the black, dark green, and bright red lacquers used in Europe for a variety of furniture types. It is unusual to find late 17th century chairs retaining their original japanned surface.

Caned 'India' patterned chair of this type were adopted by furniture maker John Ball of the City of London for his trade-signs and trade-sheets, which noted that he 'Makes and Sells all Sorts of Cane Chairs, Silk Chairs, Leather Chairs, Matted Chairs and Couches'. Furniture arriving in London via the East India Company would have served as inspiration for makers like Ball and others, who wished to capitalize on his discerning clientele’s interest in ‘exotic’ techniques. A related set of chairs was supplied to the Dryden family of Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire.