Chair with carved lion heads and rounded design

[thayla]

I suspect this chair is probably from the 1930s or 1940s, but I am not sure. It has the appropriate signs of wear on the arms and the lion heads. Some of the wood appears to be veneer, and the arms appear to be solid wood. I am not sure what kind of wood this is. All the decorative elements have been glued onto the piece by the manufacturer. The seat has springs, which are sagging and need to be replaced. The original nail heads are flat. I know that this is the male version of the chair because I saw its female counterpart when I bought this. The female version was much smaller and less ornate. It did not have lions.

This chair also appears to be shorter than modern chairs.

I have searched on eBay for similar chairs and haven't been successful at all. So if anyone can tell me anything about this chair, I would be very appreciative. I would like to know its estimated age and how unique this might be. I also wonder it would have been made.

Can anyone help?

Thank you!

[BelairDesignStudios]

What you have is a "curule" chair, related to Roman design. This example most likely dates from 1910-1915 I would estimate. These were usually manufactured in oak or maple/birch with a mahoghany finish. This one appears to also feature mahoghany veneer on the back splat. Very nice chair.

[thayla]

Thank you!

[KC]

Belair, I agree it appears to be veneer on the back as well.