Very Very nice! Arts and crafts/art nouveau style about 1915 to 1925.
Linda C

Nice! Very elegant. From the grain, it's oak

Looks like Arts and Crafts style, a mainstream manufacturer's adaptation of the extremely tall-backed styles of Rennie Mackintosh.

Arts and Crafts overlaps Art Nouveau in many ways - they were popular at about the same time - and it's common to see some of the sinuous carvings of Art Nouveau on the simpler Arts and Crafts pieces.

I agree with the above posts. I LOVE these chairs. The carving at the top looks like an anatomical heart. Amazing design.

It looks like some claddagh I have seen.

A claddagh is the joining of 2 hands....often with a heart.
This design does have some reminiscence of a Celtic knot though...

Really helpful comments. Thank you for your input.

They want to present themselves as Scottish/English. The wood looks very close to English oak. the Marlborough feet scream UK origin. and the design of the back, as someone else noted, is evocative of the Mackintosh style. If I could smell the oak I could ID it positively/ English oak has an aroma all its own. LOL
Casey

Casey,
I am pretty sure you're right about their English origin.
Sorry - I should have said - I'm posting from the UK.
Not sure I can help you out with the smell though... smells like 'wood' to me!

I know what a claddaugh is but I have seen impressionistic versions of them with the celtic ornamentation done in wood. When Acadoone mentioned heart, it's simply what it reminded me of.

Gorgeous! (wiping drool off chin...)
Very Mackintosh --

These appear to be quartersawn oak Arts and Crafts era chairs..Very nice indeed.

Take care,

Chris
www.InlandVintage.com

Here is a link that might be useful: www.InlandVintage.com

very nice chairs.simply designed.

Here is a link that might be useful: petty

I could help by taking those ugly old chairs off your hands.

First, I assume the chairs go with the table upon which they are sitting? Second assumption is that you have seen the set in your grandparents home? The chairs are not common and I am wondering if anyone in the family knows the history of the set? Also, did your grandparents have other unusual furniture? Are there any identifying marks on the chairs or the table?

The pattern is hand carved and the wood of the chairs is English oak. The style is similar to what is called pub chairs, perhaps Welsh. I shall comment on the drop leaf table later with the barley twist legs.

Don't know if anyone noticed, but the OP lives in the UK, which is England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

He mentioned that a few posts back.

Thank you for your thoughts on the chairs so far.

Here is an update:

First off, I should confirm that I am from the UK... so I'm guessing that these chairs are too.

Secondly, my best guess is that they come from a place in England called "High Wycombe" and were made by William Bartlett and his company.
Why do I think this? On closer examination I noticed that every chair has similar marking on its underside, including the image of an archer and the name 'strongbow' (see image below).

All four chairs also have the phrase "REGD" stamped on them (the 'D'is superscripted) and two chairs also have numbers stamped on them (519950) and stamped initials 'WJE'.

Googling Strongbow and furniture I came across the name William Bartlett. Indeed a search to one site revealed a logo which seemed to be of a very similar shape and stance to the stamp on the chair Web link 1.

Also, a search on google maps suggest that the old premises of the company on Grafton Street in High Wycombe also displayed a similar logo Web link 2.

A little more searching turned up a document from the High Wycombe council website which suggested that the 'Strongbow range dates at least to 1965 Web link 3. Now, if this is the case then I assume the chairs are reproductions in an
arts a craft style and are not original pieces.

Anyway. What do you all think? Does this sound plausible to you?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, time and effort.

{{gwi:1380990}}

Second update:

someone asked about whether the chairs were part of a set or had any other interesting items associated with them.

well, the chairs were always used in conjunction with the table seen in the photos above. i had always assumed they were a set and they came together. however, on closer inspection, they don't seem to share any features in common aside from both possible being made from oak.

do have a look at the images below and let me know whether you think these tables and chairs were made together or whether they were paired together at a later date. equally any ideas about the table generally would be appreciated.

with thanks.

{{gwi:1380991}}


{{gwi:1380992}}

The table and chairs aren't the same style, not even from the same era ... barleysugar twisted table legs and that lovely Arts and Crafts chair.

I found nothing in that link you provided to indicate that the chairs are repros. The way I read the link you posted, Wm Bartlet was making furniture before the turn of the 20th century.

As for the table, It's sure not the same style as the chairs, but certainly could be from about the same era....oak gate leg tables with barley twist legs were popular in the late Victorian era.
Beautiful table....and beautiful chairs!!
Linda C

Are there any labels, names, numbers, ect. that you will withhold until after everyone has made a guess about the table? Barley twist tables like this have been made for hundreds of years and are still being made today, by furniture manufacturers in China and by individual craftsmen in home shops.

>Are there any labels, names, numbers, ect. that you will withhold until after everyone has made a guess about the table?

Hi someone2010. Very funny :-) No - there is no witholding of information with regards the table. However I do think they are a different era - or at least from a different stable... underneath the style and quality of construction looks different to the chairs.

Thanks.