Construction of the Chairs
Height:
1310mm (overall)
680mm (to top of front legs)
340mm (to underside of seat rails)
Width:
730mm (front)
610mm (back)
Depth:
680mm
The chairs were made from rose mahogany or Australian rosewood (Dysoxylon fraseranum), and are the earliest known examples of the "Colonial Gothic" style. They feature extensive gothic decorative features, derived in part from designs appearing in George Smith's Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, published in London in 1808, including pointed arches, pinnacles, and pierced quatrefoils.
The chairs also include pierced fretwork along the lower part of the back, and blind fretwork on the leg facings. All faces of the legs and the sides of the seat rails have casuarina panels set into them, while the top rail of each chair has a carved arm clutching a dagger or skion dhu (the crest of the Macquarie family). There are finials on the top of each back leg.
Both chairs have been repaired and modified a number of times since 1821, including the replacement of the crest on the Museum chair during restoration work carried out in Sydney in 1969-70. Fragments of the carved crest are referred to in a letter to the Vancouver City Museum in 1937, but these were missing when the Museum chair was finally shipped to Australia. When the new carving was carried out in Sydney, the University chair was used as a model.
The chairs no longer have their original upholstery, though some of it survived until the return of the chairs to Australia in the 1960s. Restoration work carried out in October 2000 and August 2006 has further increased the similarity between the two chairs: both the Museum chair and the University chair now have kangaroo fur on the seat, as well as on all their inside and outside panels. Prior to this, the University chair had tan leather on the seat and inside side panels, and kangaroo fur on the inside rear panel and the outside panels.
However, it is the substantial differences between the two chairs that are more important to note:
Firstly, the finials on the top of each back leg are plain on the University chair, and ornately carved on the Museum chair. This is because the finials on the University chair are made from African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) (this appears to be an early replacement), while those on the Museum chair are the original rose mahogany, carved by John Webster.
Secondly, the underside of the top rail of the University chair is lacking the two carved rosettes that appear on the Museum chair. A photograph taken of the chair in the 1930s shows that the rosettes were missing. Closer examination during conservation work in 1991 has confirmed that the rosettes existed once but had been sawn off, presumably to facilitate upholstering.
Thirdly, the back of the University chair is now a stained plywood panel, whereas it is upholstered on the Museum chair.
In all other aspects of detail and proportions the two chairs are almost identical.
For further details see: Early Colonial Timber Furniture
Sources
Archival & Mss Sources
Macquarie University Archives: RS330 (Box 451 S11/B2)
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Museum Archives
Primary Sources
James Atkinson. An Account of the State of Agriculture and Grazing in New South Wales. Sydney: Sydney University Press, 1975 [facsimile edition]. First published London, J. Cross, 1826.
The Evidence of the Bigge Reports; New South Wales under Governor Macquarie. Selected and edited by John Ritchie. Melbourne: Heinemann, 1971 2 vols.
Secondary Sources
Australian Furniture: Pictorial History and Dictionary 1788-1938. Compiled by Kevin Fahy and Andrew Simpson. Sydney: Casuarina Press, 1999.
Bickersteth, Julian. "The Three Macquarie Chairs." Australiana Vol.14 Pt. 1 February 1992 pp.11-14.
Clifford, Craig, Fahy, Kevin, and Robertson, E. Graeme. Early Colonial Furniture in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. Melbourne: Georgian House, 1972.
Crosbie, R.A. "Clandestine Furniture in the Macquarie Era." Australiana Vol.15 No.1 February 1993 pp.14-20.
Fahy, Kevin, Simpson, Christine, and Simpson, Andrew. Nineteenth Century Australian Furniture. Darlinghurst: David Ell Press, 1985.
Hook, Elizabeth. Journey to a New Life: the story of the ships 'Emu' in 1812 and 'Broxbornebury' in 1814, including Crew, Female Convicts and Free Passengers on board. Minto, NSW: Privately Printed, 2000. (See entry: 'Jane Jones (c.1795-1868)' pp. 80-81 for details regarding John Nehemiah Webster.)
Watson, Ann. "Governor Macquarie's Armchair." in Decorative Arts and Design From The Powerhouse Museum (ed.) Elizabeth Bilney. Sydney: Powerhouse Publishing, 1991 p.54.
Watson, Ann. "The Macquarie Chair - a Well-Travelled Piece of History", Craft Australia Spring 1984, Issue 3, pp. 69 - 71.
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