Antique Gold Chairs
These antique gold chairs range from French giltwood salon suites to English walnut armchairs, offering period elegance and ornate carved detail for the home.
Antique Gold Chairs
When you search for antique gold chairs, you are looking at seating finished in giltwood, gold leaf, or golden oak, spanning centuries of craftsmanship. The selection encompasses French salon armchairs, Louis XVI style bergères, Regency dining sets, and Victorian occasional chairs.
You are most likely to meet 19th century French giltwood open armchairs and Victorian walnut or mahogany pieces finished with gilt highlights. These range from single throne chairs to sets of dining chairs and salon suites.
The styles cover French Rococo, Empire, Baroque, and Georgian designs, reflecting the varied tastes of European makers across the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries.
How they were made
The frames of these chairs rely primarily on hardwoods such as mahogany, walnut, beech, and oak, carved by hand with elaborate floral, scroll, or architectural motifs. Joinery typically involves traditional mortise and tenon construction to ensure structural stability over centuries.
Gilding was applied using thin sheets of gold leaf laid over a prepared gesso and bole ground on woods like giltwood, or through painted and lacquered gilt finishes on softer timbers. Upholstery materials recorded in the evidence include velvet, silk, fabric, and caned seating, secured with traditional stuffing and webbing.
What varies in quality
Quality in these pieces rests upon the crispness and depth of the wood carving, where hand-chiseled details on giltwood frames surpass mechanically produced or heavily worn mouldings. The integrity of the original gilded surface, whether gold leaf or period paint, dictates the visual coherence of the chair.
Proportion, structural rigidity, and the retention of period upholstery materials such as silk or velvet distinguish standard production from exhibition or salon quality pieces made by notable makers.
Jacob-Desmalter·Thomas Chippendale·Blaise Maucuy
The Antique Gold Chairs Glossary
- Giltwood
- Wood that has been coated with gold leaf or gold paint. This finish appears frequently on French and English period armchairs and salon seats.
- Bergère
- An enclosed upholstered armchair with wooden framing and an upholstered back and armrests. They often feature exposed giltwood or carved walnut structures.
- Fauteuil
- An open-framed French upholstered armchair with wooden arms. These chairs date predominantly from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
- Regency
- A British design period spanning the early nineteenth century. Pieces from this era often incorporate classical motifs and mahogany timbers.
- Caned
- Woven rattan or cane used for seat panels. This technique lightened the weight of formal salon and occasional chairs.
Antique Gold Chairs: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I identify a French giltwood chair?
French giltwood chairs typically exhibit carved floral and scroll motifs in the Louis XVI, Rococo, or Empire styles, utilising beech or walnut frames covered in gold leaf.
Look for traditional joinery and detailed hand-carved elements that distinguish continental salon seating from later reproductions.
What is the difference between a bergère and a fauteuil?
A bergère is an enclosed armchair with upholstered sides and back, offering a solid, enclosed seat for relaxation.
A fauteuil is an open-arm chair with exposed wooden sides between the armrests and the seat, traditionally used in formal reception rooms.
How should I care for antique giltwood furniture?
Keep giltwood chairs away from direct sunlight and fluctuating humidity to prevent the underlying gesso and gold leaf from cracking or flaking.
Dust the carved surfaces gently with a soft, dry brush and avoid applying liquid polishes that can damage the delicate metallic finish.
Are golden oak chairs the same as giltwood?
Golden oak chairs feature the natural warm tone of finished oak timber, commonly found in Arts and Crafts or Edwardian dining sets.
Giltwood chairs have an applied metallic gold leaf or paint finish over carved wood, typically associated with formal French and Regency salon furniture.