Antique Maple Chairs
These antique maple chairs bring warmth and distinct grain patterns to a room, ranging from simple folding designs to grand dining suites.
Antique Maple Chairs
The selection on this page frequently includes dining chairs and suites from the Art Deco period, alongside earlier nineteenth-century examples in Victorian, William IV, and Biedermeier styles. Makers and retailers such as Maple & Co and Hary and Lou Epstein surface among these pieces, reflecting both English and continental European production.
How they were made
Upholstered versions incorporate traditional coverings including leather, tapestry fabric, and general textile fabric. Construction methods range from folding campaign mechanisms to robust dining chair frames and elaborate settee backs.
Antique Maple Chairs Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for maple chairs among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Listings feature maple alongside decorative materials including brass, satinwood, leather, and tapestry fabric across multiple centuries.
What varies in quality
The visual impact of the timber grain separates standard examples from exceptional pieces, particularly in how birds eye maple or satinwood veneer is matched across a set of dining chairs. Natural figure and depth in the polished wood surface dictate the overall desirability.
Stylistic execution and design attribution also distinguish the range, as seen in pieces bearing maker stamps or associated with prominent workshops like Mercier Frères or Hille. The integrity of original upholstery materials and decorative painted details further define the finer specimens.
Maple and Co·Mercier Freres·Hille·Hary and Lou Epstein·Gillows
The Antique Maple Chairs Glossary
- Birds Eye Maple
- A figure in maple wood that shows small, swirling dots resembling tiny eyes, prized for decorative veneer work.
- Biedermeier
- A Central European style from the first half of the nineteenth century emphasising clean lines and utilitarian comfort without excessive ornamentation.
- Aesthetic Movement
- A late nineteenth-century design style focusing on visual beauty and artistic expression rather than narrative subject matter.
- Campaign Chair
- A portable folding chair designed for travel and military use, constructed with hinges and collapsible frames.
- Satinwood
- A durable, yellowish wood with a lustrous, satiny sheen often used for fine inlay and banding on period furniture.
Antique Maple Chairs: Frequently Asked Questions
What periods do these maple chairs cover?
The listings span from the early nineteenth century through the Victorian era and into twentieth-century Art Deco production. This covers diverse design movements including French Neoclassical, William IV, and the Aesthetic Movement.
Individual pieces date from the 1800s up to the 1940s, showing how the use of maple evolved across different eras of cabinetmaking.
How do I identify birds eye maple?
Birds eye maple is recognised by its distinctive pattern of small, circular dots that look like tiny eyes scattered across the wood grain. This natural figure occurs due to local stress in the growing tree.
Craftspeople typically used this timber as a veneer to showcase the dramatic grain on flat surfaces of chair backs and cabinet panels.
Are these chairs suitable for daily use?
Many of these pieces were built for functional domestic spaces, such as dining rooms, offices, and bedrooms. Dining sets and armchairs function well in modern interiors when placed with appropriate care.
Upholstered components like leather and tapestry fabric dictate how heavily a chair can be used before requiring conservation.
How are dining suites configured?
Dining suites on this page typically combine a dining table with a matching set of chairs, often numbering six or eight pieces. Some larger sets include up to ten chairs.
Art Deco suites frequently pair birds eye maple tables with leather-upholstered seating designed as a unified dining room set.