19TH CENTURY

Welsh chairs of this type are somewhat more complex in their manufacture than either the English or the Scottish counterparts (see lot 684 for a comparative example of an English straw chair). Here, crescent shaped 'panels' of wheat or rye straw bound together with split bramble form the elegant back and hood. In a similar way to the English chairs of this type, bent branches covered in straw were bound into the edges of the hood, the arms and front legs so as to give support. Often uncovered branches were also bound into the back section and under the seat to give support, too, but essentially the ingenious and highly skilled use of straw coils formed a largely self-supporting structure. Such comfortable chairs were made for nursing mothers and the elderly; the loose chamber pot cover is made from straw coiled into a circular lid which contrasts with the square straw lids used in English examples.