wing chair
Illustration — An 18th-century wing chair A wing chair (also, wing-back chair, wing-back or armchair) is an easy chair or club chair with "wings" attached to the back of the chair, typically, but not always, stretching down to the arm rest. The purpose of the "wings" was to shield the occupant of the chair from draughts and to trap the heat from a fireplace in the area where the person would be sitting. Hence, in the past, these were often used near a fireplace.
Also recorded as easy chair
wing chair
Daderot · CC0
- Field
- armchair
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — An 18th-century wing chair A wing chair (also, wing-back chair, wing-back or armchair) is an easy chair or club chair with "wings" attached to the back of the chair, typically, but not always, stretching down to the arm rest. The purpose of the "wings" was to shield the occupant of the chair from draughts and to trap the heat from a fireplace in the area where the person would be sitting. Hence, in the past, these were often used near a fireplace.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for wing chair. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
wikipedia incomplete · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q1847455 · wikipedia · Wing chair
In this article
Overview
Currently, most examples of wing chairs are fully upholstered with exposed wood legs, but many of the oldest examples of wing chairs have an exposed frame with padded cushions at the seat, armrests, back, and sometimes wings. The first chair design featuring these "wings" was entirely made of wood, historically used by barber-surgeons, with the wings functioning to prevent draughts from blowing hair, blood and other bodily fluids around during surgery. They were first introduced in England during the 1600s, and the basic design has remained unchanged. They did not become popular until the 1720s. Though there are many types of wing chairs, there are two standard wing styles: the flat wing and the scroll wing. There are also bat wings and butterfly wings, among other types. The length, depth, vertical position, and shape of the wings may vary from chair to chair.
Type of high-backed chair
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Connections
Knowledge graph
Connections
Each connection was recorded deliberately, with the basis for it kept on the internal record.
Broader subject
1- armchairTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Furniture
924 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- window seatTerminology
- WindSeekerTerminology
- Windsor chairTerminology
- wine rackTerminology
- winged altarpieceTerminology
- Winged Altarpiece of Our Lady from SeebergTerminology
- wire shelvingTerminology
- Wishbone chairTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with wing chair?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.