Spanish Leather Chairs: Sillón de Cadera, Jamuga and Later Types

Spanish leather chairs range from late medieval curule-derived seats to rigid sixteenth- and seventeenth-century armchairs and later revival furniture. The leather is visually persuasive, but frame construction and provenance carry more dating weight.

Sillón de cadera and jamuga

The Spanish terms sillón de cadera and jamuga are used for a hip-joint or curule-derived chair. A documented Granada example at the Metropolitan Museum dates to about 1480–1500. It has four S-shaped supports on runner-like feet and ornamental discs suggesting a former folding joint, although the frame no longer folds.

The Met notes that late fifteenth-century seats and backs could be covered with luxury textiles or embossed and stamped leather, while frames could be carved and inlaid. The chair type developed from the ancient Roman curule seat through medieval ceremonial furniture.

Rigid leather armchairs

Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spanish armchairs may have walnut frames, straight or turned members, leather backs and seats, and decorative nails. A sixteenth-century walnut and leather armchair is securely catalogued by the Met.

Forms circulated widely across Europe and Spanish America. A high back, dark walnut and leather do not by themselves prove Spanish manufacture.

Leather evidence

Old leather can retain embossed ornament, tooling, original nail spacing, stretched edges, frame-related tears and replacement patches. Leather is frequently replaced. Compare unused nail holes, rail staining and the current cover's shape.

Frame construction

Inspect the relationship between legs, uprights, arms and runners. Curule-derived frames may appear to fold but can be structurally fixed. Later “Dante” or “Savonarola” revival chairs often imitate the crossed silhouette.

Check walnut identification, joints, underside wear and whether carving continues logically across structural members.

Common mistakes

• calling every crossed-frame chair medieval;
• assuming all stamped leather is Spanish;
• confusing Renaissance Revival chairs with early examples;
• accepting replacement leather as original;
• dating from decorative nails alone;
• describing a chair as folding when its frame cannot fold.

Restoration

Support old leather from behind during examination. Do not apply household oils, which can darken and weaken historic surfaces. Retain early nails and unused holes.

A loose crossed frame may not be designed to move. Forcing it can fracture the joints.

Sources

• Metropolitan Museum of Art, Spanish hip-joint armchair, Granada, about 1480–1500: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/199649
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, Spanish walnut and leather armchair, sixteenth century: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/196742
• Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal, curule and leather chair research: https://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/Campeche_Chair_in_The_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art_The_Metropolitan_Museum_Journal_v_38_2003.pdf