DA300174 – Chair, Mercier Freres, 1920-1925

Part of the One Minute Wonders trail, a story written by one of our volunteers, inspired by objects on display.

By Gillian Ditch

An armchair from the Art Deco period; upholstered in a decorative flower pattern material with a gilded wooden frame.

I would be interested to know who made the chair and who it was gilded by. Who was the first owner of the chair and what prompted them to buy it?

Who else sat in this chair and what did they do whilst sitting in the chair? Were they drinking a cocktail or reading the latest Agatha Christie book do you think?

I like to imagine this chair in a fashionable London flat in the 1920’s. Perhaps it belonged to someone who knew or liked Noel Coward.

Older pieces of furniture have stories to tell; of the places they have been and the people who used them. What stories would your chairs tell do you think?