Click on the image to see the full version. Photo: Alexis Daflos

Empire style backrest chair

ROSENDAL PALACE

The Blue and Yellow Cabinet at Rosendal Palace is home to a set of chairs with the customary sabre bowed legs and back panel typical of Empire style chairs, called pelta chairs after the Greek word for shield.

The inverted shield usually hangs freely on the back uprights or appears to rest on, for example, a laurel wreath. In this room, the wreath has been replaced with the two lions from the national coat of arms in carved, gilded wood.

The dark mahogany furniture of the Empire style was often ornamented with burnished mounts. Here, these have been replaced with a simpler alternative: gold stencilled painting.

FACTS
Made by: Probably Lorentz Wilhelm Lundelius, 1825-30

Polished mahogany with gold stencilled painting. Solid stuffing, covered with silk circa 1840, Mazer & Co.