Description
REGENCY MAHOGANY CHAMBER-HORSE EXERCISE CHAIR
EARLY 19TH CENTURY
of typical form, with rectangular spring-loaded accordion brown suede upholstered seat above a pull-out step, on turned legs
75cm wide, 98cm high, 47cm deep
Note:Exercise chairs such as this were sometimes called 'chamber-horses' because the users bounced up and down, exercising their legs in a way similar to riding a horse. They were advertised from as early as 1740 and were still popular in 1803 when the designer Thomas Sheraton illustrated one in his Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book.
A similar example to this one, but with caned back, is in the National Trust Collection at Belton House, Lincolnshire.