19th Century Victorian English Leather Armchairs, Set of 2

This is a handsome pair of antique Victorian mahogany and leather club armchairs, circa 1880 in date. This lovely pair was made from masterly crafted hand-carved solid mahogany with an interesting hand-carved crest of a bird on top of each. They have been reupholstered in a sumptuous chocolate brown leather with button backs and stand on their original brass and porcelain castors. There is no mistaking their beautiful and stylish design, which is certain to make it a treasured addition to one of the rooms in your home. The items are not CITES pursuant. Condition: In excellent condition having been beautifully restored and reupholstered in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 106 x width 68 x depth 80. Dimensions in inches: Height 3 feet, 6 inches x width 2 feet, 3 inches x depth 2 feet, 7 inches. Mahogany is probably one of the largest ‘families’ of hardwood, having many different varieties within its own species. Mahogany has been used for centuries in ship building, house building, furniture making etc and is the core structure of just about every 19th century vanity box, dressing case or jewelry box. It became more of a Victorian trend to dress mahogany with these decorative veneers, such as rosewood, kingwood, burr walnut and coromandel, so that the actual mahogany was almost hidden from view. Mahogany itself is a rich reddish brown wood that can range from being plain in appearance to something that is so vibrant, figured and almost three dimensional in effect. Although mahogany was most often used in its solid form, it also provided some beautifully figured varieties of veneer like ‘flame’ mahogany and ‘fiddleback’ mahogany (named after its preferred use in the manufacture of fine musical instruments). Cuban mahogany was so sought after, that by the late 1850s, this particular variety became all but extinct. Scottish leather These chairs are upholstered in top quality Scottish cow hide which has been hand dyed and antiqued. Because they are hand dyed we can finish the leather to the required color, and the beautiful antique patina is achieved by the special walnut based stains that we use in the process. The studding is achieved with close individual studs not by using strips, and each nail is individually hammered in by hand.