This chair is made entirely of turned pieces, apart from the seat. It's made of ash, a wood commonly selected for woodturning as its soft and easy to work with when green, with a straight grain, unlike oak which is hard and has a tendency to splity easily when turned.
The chair is from Ty'n-y-cymmer House, Porth, Rhondda, the ancesteral home of the Morgan family since the 1600's. A small group of turned chairs survive from Wales; all are connected to larger gentry houses, some of which may well be about 500 years old. This is a particularly spectacular example which would have been made for someone of status as chairs were not common to all at this period. The 13th century tax assessment for Merioneth had specified turners, a recognition of the seperate identity of this ancient craft.
