Hi everyone,
First of all, congratulations for the site and forum, it is **really**, and I mean it, really interesting.
I'm trying to id or, better, define when these chairs were made. They were made in Brazil and used to belong to my wife's grandmother. Maybe this is not the right place to ask, but I couldn't find any decent Brazilian forum about furniture and/or woodworking.
So,what do I know about them besides that they are in the family for a long time?
- They are made of Brazilian Rosewood ("Jacarand
This place is dedicated to original design from the 1950s to 1970s with some later stuff thrown in sometimes. This doesn't include reproduction antiques made during that time or much stuff earlier than that. Your chair has Queen Anne style legs (1700s) in the front but the squared back doesn't look too Queen Anne-ish to me. This style of furniture has been popular ever since it was first conceived and has been reproduced a lot by tons of furniture companies over a long period. I don't think you'll get too far with hit here but I hope you get the answers you are looking for somewhere.
It's an interpretation of a Chippendale side chair. Carved details like the shell motif on the knees and crest rail are typical ornamentation, though the more geometric form of the splat and rear posts on your chair are less typical, updated elements. Every maker of these added their own signature design details.
The Chippendale style remains popular to this day, especially in the former British colonies. Some 18th-century examples, particularly those made by certain American joiners, can be of significant value.
I know absolutely nothing about the names of the styles of furniture referenced above. But I do know something about identifying wood. Jacaranda is not a very precise identifier, but it is sometimes used for Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra), and it seems you are taking it to be that too. I am not sure what that wood is, but I am as certain as can be from a photo that it is NOT Dalbergia nigra. I don't think it is any species of Rosewood. I would even go so far as to say that I don't think it is anything in the legume family. There are still a LOT of hardwood species in Brazil that it could be.
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