CEYLON OR INDONESIA, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

This Dutch Indonesian chair has its circular seat raised on acanthus-wrapped feet that terminate in ball-and-claw feet in the early 18th century Roman fashion. Antiquarians of the early 19th century popularised such seats as desk chairs and dated them to the late 17th century and 'the time of William III' (H. Shaw Specimens of Ancient Furniture 1836, pl. 18). By the mid-19th century they became generally known as 'Burgomaster' chairs, but have since been called 'roundabout' or 'wheel' chairs (J. Veenendaal, Furniture from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India during the Dutch Period, Delft, 1985).