Penrose Antiques

Description

We have for sale a lovely decorative piece of early 20th century Welsh history, a rare and very seldom available on the market carved Welsh hall chair by the Belgian refuge Emile De Vynck c1920.

The wood carver, Emile de Vynck was initially from Mechelen in Belgium. Unfortunately he and his wife, Maria Regina Sermeus, and young daughter Pauline were forced to flee the city because of German bombing in October 1914. He and his family made their way to London. They were then sent to Criccieth on the Llŷn Peninsula where they lived in a house owned by David Lloyd Jones. By 1915 de Vynck had set up a workshop on the Hendregadredd Estate in Pentrefelin. Thanks to the patroage of David Lloyd George and Louisa Mary Ignatius Williams of the Hendregadredd Estate in Pentrefelin his work became highly desirable in the region. He is most well-known for his quite stunning Bardic Eisteddfod chairs.

This particular chair consists of seat beautifully carved with a leek supported by a back consisting of a top rail with a richly carved central foliate design over an equally richly carved central panel supported on yet another richly carved lower rail. The back extends down towards plain square swept back legs. To the front, the seat is supported square carved legs and by another deeply carved rail. The legs are held together by square cut plain stretchers to the side and a beautifully carved stretcher to the front. The underside of the seat is signed de Vynck, Belgium. The remains of a letter from the Curator of the Welsh Folk Museum, St Fagans, about the chair is also pasted to the underside of the seat.

The chair is 18 inches (45cm) wide, 15.75 inches (40cm) deep, 40 inches (101.6cm) high and is in a good condition other than a crack to the seat.