A WONDERFUL AND RARE 18TH CENTURY OAK DUG-OUT ARMCHAIR. CIRCA 1760. 
The entire outer body of the chair is hewn from the trunk on an oak tree with the seat, arms and door made from separate pieces of wood.
This chair was discovered in a thatched cottage near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds in the 1980’s.
The chair by its nature has a very rustic aesthetic which is enhanced by some old blacksmith repairs (which may have been part of the original construction of the chair to reinforce splits and weaknesses in the wood). 
The chair has amazing old, possibly original paint which has worn through to the wood in areas of heavy usage such as the arms and seat edge.
Unusually this chair has a door bearing the initials 
AS:FS suggesting this may have been a chair made made to mark a marriage. More often these chairs are left open at the bottom creating a kennel space for a small dog.
Height 115cm
Width 72cm
Depth 45cm