Chair Cover, Leather, Ham House

DateLate 17th or early 18th century

MediumLeather; flax

DimensionsL: 30"; W: 25 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1954-985

DescriptionThis is a shaped cover for the back of a large, upholstered armchair. The cover is brown leather embossed or stamped with a symmetrical pattern of large acanthus leaves between floral scrolls to resemble damask. Narrow leather binds one edge and remnants of two different flax tapes are stitched near the edge beneath the arm holes. The cover is curved at the top with darts to shape it around chair stuffing. Holes are cut to accommodate chair arms. Slits are mended with dark thread, and old patches and mends are evident.Label TextThis protective chair cover is made of leather stamped in a pattern derived from damask textiles, often called "damask leather" in period inventories. The cover is for the back of an armchair, with openings through which the chair arms protruded. The cover would have been tied in place over the finer textile upholstery beneath, which protected the more expensive fabric from sun, insects, and dirt.

The cover has a history of use at Ham House, a seventeenth-century historic house in Richmond, near London, England.ProvenanceFormerly in Ham House.