Armchair

In rural homesteads of Western Pomerania, among different seating such as benches and stools, one could also find chairs and armchairs with the frame structure and seats woven from torn tree roots, wicker, reeds or straw. Armchairs were distinguished from chairs by side rails (armrests) and a much higher backrest, resembling that of a throne. According to the ethnographer, Roman Reinfuss, due to small demand, rural armchairs were usually produced by amateurs, trying their skills in artistic woodcraft, and not by professional craftsmen. However, the presented armchair is a product made by a professional artisan, judging from the precise way of joining individual elements and the meticulously made decoration. It consists of a bas-relief, placed in the central part of the backrest, depicting a farm with a crane (well) in the foreground and a cottage with distinctive śparogi – decorative finial in the shape of an animal (horse?) head. This piece of furniture has a trapezoid seat woven from reed, consisting of three triangles joined in one point, and its armrests are decorated at the ends with carvings in the shape of animal paws. The armchair dates to the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Agnieszka Słowińska