Early European furniture was the preserve of the very wealthy, but as methods of converting timber evolved and became more commonplace, skilled 'joyners' proliferated. In the early eighteenth century, carpenters would have made basic furniture for farmers too and anyone else who could afford it. The pieces of furniture were normally simplistic and utilitarian, but occasionally whimsical or luxury (relatively speaking) pieces were made.

The picture below shows such a piece, probably made for an old and presumably respected member of an early eighteenth century well-to-do country family.



The rocking chair still displays its utilitarian origins; the centre section of the seat lifts up revealing a large storage bin and the tail box also has a lift up lid. Once loaded with flour or other stores, the chair would be quite heavy to move around, so it would most likely have been a permanent fireside feature for the elderly sitter and the deep wings would have protected them from draughts.

What appeals to me is the simple plank construction and it struck me that with a lot of timber millers in Australia cutting wide slabs that someone here might wish to make a similar chair.

The sides, back and front are 1" thick and the remainder is 3/4" thick. The front of the seat is about 2.5" wider than the back. There are scotia mouldings in the back corners of the chair (presumably to strengthen it), but I suspect these were later additions. The original construction would have relied solely on treenails or smith-made iron nails.