History and Style of Regency Chairs

Throughout history, it is not unusual to find several distinctive styles of architecture, literature, fashion, and furniture trends associated with, or identified by the name of the monarch that ruled during that period. For an example of eras recognized in this manner, we have Queen Anne, Victorian, and Louis XIV to name only a few. And while a majority of original pieces of furniture and style from these eras remain, their influences are wildly popular today thanks to the expertise and craftsmanship of reproductions.

One of those antique furniture styles which have remained a sought-after part of the design is Regency. The Regency era itself is most commonly defined as a period that spanned roughly forty years from 1795 to 1837, which also encompassed the reign of the Prince Regent of Great Britain. The Prince Regent ruled as the proxy for his father, King George III, until the passing of the king in 1820 when the Prince assumed the throne as King George IV.

The Regency period was considered one of the great cultural refinements and achievements in Great Britain, credited with changing the shape of societal structures of the entire country. One of those great refinements is evident in the designs and manufacturing of Regency furniture, which incorporated inspirations from ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian cultures.

Ancient Greece and the Regency Chair

Unlike other periods, the Recency era did not simply try and borrow designs from Roman and Greek culture but often attempted to recreate actual pieces of furniture found in museums, vaults, or preserved artwork of the time. The introduction of Egyptian artifacts would also spark a desire to bring stylistic elements into the Regency period style. Thematic motifs of ancient gods, sphinxes, lions, and griffons began to decorate many furniture pieces. And during this time, there was a revival of Eastern influences from China and Japan that encouraged the use of bamboo, wood carved to resemble bamboo, and lacquered finishes.

What does all of the above have to do with Regency chairs' history and style? If you’ve ever stumbled across depictions of ancient furniture on painted pottery or in bas-reliefs from the mid-fifth century BCE onwards, you might notice a piece of furniture known as the klismoi. Klismoi is a type of chair or armchair that was depicted to be light and easy to carry. Klismoi were drawn or carved as having curved, tapered legs that sweep forward and rearward offering increased stability. The rear legs swept continuously upward to create a wide-concave backrest like a curved tablet that supported the sitter’s shoulders and may or may not have been low enough to lean an elbow on.

This eye-catching chair style of the klismoi, particularly the leg shape began to mark the era of the Regency chair. Along with sweeping legs, ornamentation moved toward elegance rather than richness with more curved lines throughout. Chairs for dining rooms, living rooms, hallways, and outdoors reflected the general melding of the Regency period which continued the Neoclassical feel of the Georgian era but drew inspiration from the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Asian designs.

Regency chairs featured several key elements:

• Strong focus on stately, clean-edged looks.
• Unfussy furniture designs that were symmetrical and streamlined.
• Beautiful dark woods, particularly mahogany for dramatic styles or decorative veneers to give a sense of luxury and appeal.
• Occasional golden or metallic accents for contrast against the dark wood.
• Straight lines or classically rounded lines with graceful arcs.
• Classic decorative carved symbols such as geometrics, rosettes, laurel wreaths, acanthus leaves, lyres, and lion masks could be seen in Regency chairs.
• Like the klismoi from ancient Greece, chair legs typically were saber legs, concave legs, turned legs, and legs with classic column looks, sometimes adding X-shaped stretchers.

During the Regency era, an English furniture maker known as Thomas Sheraton became popular and his timeless designs began to heavily influence chair styles as well. Although one of the hallmarks of Sheraton’s unique style was the use of very straight, tapering legs, in some of his chairs the sweeping shape of the ancient Greek chair could be seen in some of his pieces during this era. Sheraton’s “Cabinet Dictionary,” of 1803 included designs of Grecian couches, animal monopodia, and chairs with legs that curved forwards and back—called the “sabre” design which became the singular most shared characteristic for Regency chairs during that period.

Later, in 1804 – 1806 Sheraton would publish his first Egyptian-influenced designs used in English furniture called, “The Cabinet Maker and Artist’s Encylopedia.”

Inspired by both the historic ancient Greek cultures and the genius of master craftsmen like Sheraton himself, the Regency chair style did not simply remain a thing of the past but can be seen in seating design to this very day. While Regency encompasses many themes, the Regency chair shares a similar feature and that is its delicate beauty. With scrolling shapes, graceful curves that punctuate and soften its smaller scales in chairs, the romanticism of that time is still evident in the detailing of every piece.

At Laurel Crown, we are smitten with the elaborate grace of the Regency chair. With our meticulous attention to detail, we have enjoyed hand-making several of our one-of-a-kind reproductions. The same care as Sheraton and other artisan cabinetry makers of the time would employ for their Regency chairs, we have dutifully followed with ours. Handmade from the ground up, we choose nothing but the best, genuine plantation-grown Honduras mahogany with the most enchanting grains. The loving dedication to historic details can be seen in our Regency dining chairs or Regency armchair, for example, each one hand-sanded, hand-carved, and then hand-finished for a unique antique reproduction as stunning as the real thing.

Many of the genuine Regency chairs made during that period did not survive the trials of use and time, or if they did, many are now treasured displays in museums or part of a private collection. Thankfully, with our expertise and decades of masterful furniture making, owning your very own heirloom-quality Regency chair almost identical to the authentic is never out of your reach. You too can enjoy the legacy of the Regency chairs' history and style within your very own home. Simply reach out to us at any time or browse our flawless array of antique reproductions. "

At Laurel Crown, we are quite smitten with the elaborate grace of the Regency chair. With our meticulous attention to detail, we have enjoyed hand-making several of our one-of-a-kind reproductions. The same care as Sheraton and other artisan cabinetry makers of the time would employ for their Regency chairs, we have dutifully followed with ours. Handmade from the ground up, we choose nothing but the best, genuine plantation-grown Honduras mahogany with the most enchanting grains. The loving dedication to historic details can be seen in our Regency dining chairs or Regency armchair, for example, each one hand-sanded, hand-carved, and then hand-finished for a unique antique reproduction as stunning as the real thing.

Many of the genuine Regency chairs that were made during that period did not survive the trials of use and time, or if they did, many are now treasured displays in museums or part of a private collection. Thankfully, with our expertise and decades of masterful furniture making, owning your very own heirloom-quality Regency chair almost identical to the authentic is never out of your reach. You too can enjoy the wonderful legacy of the Regency chairs' history and style within your very own home, simply reach out to us at any time or browse our flawless array of antique reproductions.