A rare James I oak caqueteuse armchair attributed to Salisbury, with a foliate lunette crest above a characteristic Salisbury 'S' chain carving and a leaf carved panel back, with moulded borders, the trapezoidal seat with conforming arms with turned column supports, with a leaf carved lunette frieze on turned column legs united by peripheral stretchers, 110.2cm high, 60.8cm wide, 39cm deep.
Provenance: 'A Lifetime of Collecting'-The property of a gentleman.
The term caqueteuse derives from the French caqueter or 'to chatter' and this 'conversation' chair was first introduced into Britain from France in the 16th century. It is distinguished from other armchairs by a trapezoidal seat and with horizontal canted arms. The caqueteuse was thought to be a more-or-less exclusive product of Scotland with its close artistic and political links to France. However, English caqueteuse chairs, although less common, are often known as Salisbury chairs with many made in the workshop of Humphrey Beckham.
For discussions of caqueteuse chairs including Salisbury examples, see Victor Chinnery, Early Oak Furniture of Salisbury and South Wiltshire and Oak Furniture, The British Tradition, pp.448-454 also Tobias Jellinek, Early British Chairs and Seats 1500-1700, pp104-115.