16TH CENTURY GLASTONBURY TYPE ENGLISH FOLDING X FRAMED CHAIR. SOMERSET. CIRCA 1600.

 AN EXTREMELY RARE AND UNDISCOVERED LATE 16TH CENTURY GLASTONBURY TYPE ENGLISH FOLDING X FRAMED CHAIR. SOMERSET. CIRCA 1600.

THIS REMARKABLE SURVIVOR HAS ONLY JUST RECENTLY BEEN DISCOVERED, IDENTICAL TO THE FAMOUS FOLDING CHAIRS WHICH ARE OWNED AND EXIBITED BY THE BISHOP OF BATH AND WELLS AT THE BISHOPS PALACE, WELLS CATHEDRAL, SOMERSET (SEE IMAGE ATTACHED).MADE AT THE SAME TIME AND IN THE SAME WORKSHOP AS THE TWO CHAIRS MENTIONED AND PROBABLY FROM THE SAME RUN OF TIMBER, ON THE TWO CHAIRS IN WELLS CATHEDRAL IT IS EVIDENT THAT THE WELLS CHAIR HAS HAD RESTORATION TO SEAT RAILS AND LEGS PROBABLY DUE TO THEM BEING CUT FROM THE SLIGHTLY SOFTER SAPWOOD PART OF THE TREE WHICH MAKES THEM MORE PRONE TO WOODWORM DAMAGE, THIS DISCOVERED EXAMPLE HAS HAD SLIGHT WORM DAMAGE IN THE SAME AREAS BUT IS ALL ORIGINAL, ITS LEGS HAVE LOST ITS ORIGINAL HEIGHT PROBABLY BY A FEW INCHES, ALL ORIGINAL METAL PEGS REMAIN TO ALL THE JOINTS.

FOR MANY YEARS IT HAS BEEN THOUGHT BY HISTORIANS AND ACADEMICS THAT THERE HAS BEEN ONLY TWO TRUE GLASTONBURY TYPE EXAMPLES, AS WELL AS POSSIBLY TEN SIMILAR WEST COUNTRY 16TH CENTURY FOLDING TYPE CHAIRS, PICTURED IN V. CHINNERY PAGE 232. FIG 3:3 AND 3:3A. THIS IS A VERY RARE FIND IT HAS ALL THE SAME CARVED LATIN SCRIPT AS THE WELLS CHAIRS "IOHANES ARTHURUS", "MONACUS GLASTONIE","SALVET EUM DEUS", "SIT LAUS DEO","DA PACEM DOMINE" . TRANSLATES TO JOHN ARTHUR- MONK OF GLASTONBURY -GOD SAVE HIM-PRAISE TO GOD-LORD GIVE PEACE.
IT HAS LONG BEEN THOUGHT THAT THE WELLS CHAIR HAD BEEN SAT ON BY JOHN ARTHUR THORNE THE LAST TREASURER OF GLASTONBURY ABBEY, BEFORE HIS DEATH IN 1539, BUT I TEND TO AGREE WITH THE LATE VICTOR CHINNERYS THOUGHTS THAT THE WELLS CHAIR AND THIS EXAMPLE WERE MADE AROUND 1600 TO COMEMORATE HIS DEATH.

STOCK NO 1714.

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This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

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