4 Art Deco Chairs From RMS Caronia Ocean Liner 1940's

Details

Description

Set of 4 Art Deco dining chairs constructed from flame maple wood, upholstered in tapestry textile. Good condition generally. one … Read more Set of 4 Art Deco dining chairs constructed from flame maple wood, upholstered in tapestry textile. Good condition generally. one back has a fracture in the wood on the seat back. See photo. Dimensions: Width from arm to arm 23"...Depth of legs 18.5"... Overall Height 34"...Seat interior width 19" at front and 15" towards seat back...Seat depth 17"
The chairs came from the Sandringham dining room aboard the cruising liner RMS Caronia which sailed transatlantic from Southhampton to New York regularly. Nicknamed the green Goddess due to the painted green hull.
RMS Caronia was in service for only 20 years; built as an all 1st class luxury cruising vessel which included 2 dining rooms. She provided transatlantic service between Southampton England and New York, the Caribbean and round the world cruises and was considered the Millionaires ship.
Laid up in New York in 1967 after only 20 years of service due to the advent of the ‘Jet liner’ making the transatlantic crossing the newest and fastest way to travel. After sitting in New York harbor for 10 years accumulating dockage dues, all the contents were sold off while berthed in New York harbor from 1967 to 1977 and the ship was sold for scrap to the far east and arranged to be towed by a German tug to Guam. Almost at it’s destination a typhoon forced the German tug boat to cut the lines in order to save themselves. The RMS Caronia was thrust onto the rocks at the entrance to the harbor in Guam and broke into 3 parts.
These 4 chairs were reupholstered about 40 years ago with a tapestry type fabric and the original cloth from the underside of the seats with CARONIA SANDRINGHAM RESTAURANT written on each of them, was saved. Images of the SANDRINGHAM dining room on board the RMS CARONIA can be found on an extensive website dedicated to the Caronia at CARONIA2.INFO along with other historical documentation about the ship. it's a fascinating story which gives these chairs great historical provenance.
The website above also lists the furniture maker from London as HILLE London, fine furniture makers founded in the late 1800’s. See less