Queen Anne Side Chair

[Joel Ficke]

This is a reproduction of what Horner's Blue Book calls the "Best American Queen Anne chair yet found." It's a transitional piece as the overall shape is Queen Anne yet it's embellished with Chippendale carving. 4 of a set of at least 6 of the originals are known to exist and the latest went to auction in 2003 for a final closing price of $679,500...ouch!

My version is from mahogany as was the original. It's a start-to-finish neanderthal effort with the exception of roughing out the blanks on a bandsaw. The finish is primarily dye and shellac, but pigments were also used to make the piece look old.

For those that like seeing the process from bare wood to finished piece, there's a short youtube video available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9IgXEfPCG0

Below are a few pictures of the finished piece. Detailed images are available in the photo album here on the Creek.

[John Keeton]

Amazing!! Tremendous attention to detail, and the craftsmanship is outstanding - all the more an accomplishment with handtools. You did a wonderful job on the finish, as well. Great piece, Joel.

[Brent Ring]

Amazing!! Tremendous attention to detail, and the craftsmanship is outstanding - all the more an accomplishment with handtools. You did a wonderful job on the finish, as well. Great piece, Joel.

+1 on what John said. I cannot say it any better!

[Joe Shinall]

Wow!!!!


Pretty much all I can say.


Wow!!!!

[Mark Ball]

My jaw just hit the floor

Outstanding. Where does one even start a project like that?

[Jim Rimmer]

Wow!!!!


Pretty much all I can say.


Wow!!!!

Me, too!! Loved the video.

[Jeff Monson]

Joel that is a beutiful chair, loved the video also.

[Calvin Hobbs]

Inspiring work Joel. Your finish turned out really well also. Chair has a really good "period" look to it. You keep raising the bar, my friend. Cal

[Van Huskey]

That my friend is a exremely nice chair, and although it might be worth a tiny bit less than $680 grand I would wager the workmanship is every bit as good, maybe better.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Joe,
I believe chairs are a real challenge to even the finest woodworkers. Yours is spectacular. Though you and I will never see it's value reach the "big Bucks" yours will do nothing but become more and more valuable. Hand made classics are still important to many. Great job.
I read the name Horner's Blue Book in your thread. I am interested in Queen Anne chairs and try to collect good reference materials. I looked up the book and it is long out of print. Used copies are expensive. Take good care of yours, it is obviously a collectors item.
fmr

[Joel Ficke]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. This is probably my favorite QA chair which made it a joy to build. Even though I'm proud of how it turned out, my carving is no where near the quality of the original. That's one of the things I love about period furniture...endless learning and a true appreciation for just how good the original masters were.

Cal, we all have to keep pushing to keep up with the Hobb's boyz!

[Roy Wall]

That is a good looking, solid chair.
Great carving and you saved $679,000!
Excellent piece.............

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Ditto on what John said. Amazing work, Joel.

[John Timberlake]

Great job, Joel. Really nice carving and finish. Love the video.

[mreza Salav]

outstanding work there! A true master piece. well done.