Fabulous, found in Britain, (although one wouldn't discount the possibility of it being from a French boat) overtly and classical, original, Rococo boat seat-back painted with mermen, Romanesque stylized dolphins and sea spirits, emanating from a trompe l'oiel fountain head enclosing a cartouche with sail boats moored in a bay. Asymmetrical design and characteristic Rococo palette of pastels with white-yellow background. . Beautifully finely detailed - worthy of a very fine artist. The dolphins are enlivened with highly expressive faces, expressions themselves formed from imaginary features, all belying the fact of their imaginary form. The wave like creatures at the top, formed from water gushing from a fountain head; the flowing form borrowed itself from stylized Acanthus foliage seen throughout Rococo design, are tenderly delineated. Of the period motifs of the painting itself, fissures in the paint significantly add texture to the scales of the dolphins and mermen's tails, and blood vessels to their flesh, unimaginable and unimagined by the artist and paradoxically, appearing to charge them with 250 years of life.
Some of the imagery, especially the mermen and dolphins appear to ape closely those of the classical Rococo painting of Francois Boucher (last figure from 1740). Indeed it was common for British artists and craftsmen to copy elements of the French Rococo directly and incorporate them into their own designs in the mid 1700s.. However it is a highly original and exquisitely and sensitively executed composition, matching any painting of the period. Strongly reflecting the influence of Rococo in Britain in the mid 1700s; and such is the level of detail copied from Boucher, that of itself is suggestive that Boucher was at his most popular at the time of painting the present image and suggesting that it is contemporary with the height of Boucher's popularity c1760-1780.
(of course - the Rococo was full of double-entendre, and one can imagine an alternative interpretation of the image, the 'promised land' seen in the distance..in keeping with the shocking original by Boucher.)
About 35 inches by 12. Solid one piece of wood - about an 1/2 inch thick. (The type indeterminate as both front and back are painted although probably pine. ) The topside is slightly chamfered, so the seat back would be leaning back slightly when in use.
On the reverse of an 1890s half tone print is stated in faded writing that this was the 'sternboard from the coxwain's thwart on the silver medal winning galley at the 1830 Ryde Royal Regatta'.
The fact of it's amazing quality and that it is still in good condition for its age (having some wear appropriate to it actually being used as a boat seat), suggests that this could well be true.
In fact - it actually looks as though it may have been old in 1830 and the design definitely dates to the mid 1700s, the Rococo falling out of favour by the late 1700s.
This all notwithstanding, it is a fabulous and original period antique (ask yourself - which version of the dolphins and mermen do you prefer? Boucher's 1740 rendition or the present.) - a classical British expression of the Rococo - most expressively manifest in craft work - as seen here - it's combination with a functional boat seat-back adds to it's appeal as a painting true to the Rococo ; the Rococo itself deriving from the Renaissance penchant for decorating everyday objects with shells, marine objects and images from classical antiquity.
It might be worth noting that the dolphins in all of Boucher's paintings are either rescuing or supporting figures. In this respect they are here thoughtfully painted on a seat. Not inconceivable therefore that the artist was quite close to Boucher himself and perhaps even could have been Boucher, given that he was prolific and the boat from which it came - indeed entered in a Royal regatta - as Boucher was painter to the king himself.
The last image show the seat-back as found, before being cleaned and given a clear coat of varnish. The back still has its' original varnish and might appear as the pale white -yellow background on the front if it were cleaned. In its' cleaned state - the age is still nicely and clearly manifest in the craquelure/texture of the paint.
Further cleaning would be possible, as the acrylic varnish is easily removed, but a balance must be made between losing such aged texture as it appears now, and the improved image quality produced by cleaning.