Edward James employed an Austrian father and son team of carvers at West Dean in the late 1920s, called English, who may have carved this chair. They carved trophies designed by Rex Whistler for the overdoors in the Tapestry Gallery and additional carving for the Oak Hall

The design for this chair is taken from an anonymous late 18th Century volume of designs for garden furniture, Ideas for Rustic Furniture proper for Garden Seats, Summer Houses, Hermitages, Cottages, & Co. (see: M. Heckscher, 'Eighteenth Century Rustic Furniture Designs', Furniture History, 1975, fig. 128)