Side chair 1730 - 1745

Curator: Well, hello there! And welcome to this, well, rather fantastic piece of furniture! This side chair was crafted by Giles Grendey, sometime between 1730 and 1745. A fabulous example of baroque decorative art, wouldn't you say? Editor: My immediate impression is…regal discomfort. I mean, it's beautiful, with that rich wood and the woven seat. But, is it just me, or does it scream "style over substance"? You know, like the gilded cage. Curator: (Chuckles) A gilded cage, you say? I adore that! Perhaps, yes, a certain status symbol more than something to slouch in while watching telly. But look at the craftsmanship. The carving, the relief work…the way those floral motifs almost dance across the surface. Do you think about how each element probably reflects stories, or societal aspirations, or perhaps just a fashionable ideal back in the Georgian era? Editor: Absolutely! And it's not just florals, is it? I'm seeing almost heraldic crests embedded within the carvings. Makes me wonder about power, family lineage...how deeply rooted that need was to display your belonging, even on your dining chair. It also reads like this interesting blend of opulence with a sort of... earthy sensibility? The reddish brown with the woven chair, that seems like an intent play of nature meeting power! Curator: Earthy opulence! Another gem. Yes, this chair would've whispered tales of refinement and global trade. A little Chinese influence in the ornamentation, I imagine, showing a reach beyond England at the time. Editor: Exactly. Furniture becomes this loaded vehicle! It represents the desire for stability, status, rootedness. Plus it shows wealth— you are not only literally "sitting" pretty on symbols of cultural value. Very literally placing oneself above things and also supported by them! And given what England did as it built the British Empire, maybe there is something ominous or unsettling to consider as we reflect on sitting on furniture built at the peak of wealth extracted via exploitation! Curator: Good heavens, a chair causing shivers down your spine! Editor: In a way! Maybe not just mine? I am thinking out loud, if it sits at the nexus of the pretty and problematic then surely it is a conversation piece, don’t you agree? Curator: Ah, always the philosopher! And you’ve made me see it in a slightly darker light. The beauty belies, perhaps, a deeper story of inequality and desire. How perfectly awful. Editor: Perhaps all gilded cages and decorative emblems mask and create what is buried beneath them and within them. So let’s reflect that the chair can literally elevate to places we are otherwise kept out of, that only become amplified by objects and items like that baroque emblem here today.