On View
Not on viewSide Chairs
Date1770-1790
Terms
- Side Chairs
- Mahogany
Dimensions93.91 × 55.84 × 45.69 cm (37 × 22 × 18 in.)
Credit LineGift of Cummings E. Davis (1886)
Object numberF706
DescriptionMahogany. One of a pair of "ladder-back" Chippendale side chairs, three bars at back, overupholstered seats. Top bar is crest rail....Bars all have serpentine shape, with four pierced slots each, two to each side of a carved and pierced central motif of honeysuckle (?) over which a crown-like motif. Bars have carved scrolling on top edges. Ears have carved leafage (acanthus?). Squared seat with serpentine front. Straight, square front legs, molded on outside; all legs chamfered on inside. Similar to F712 and F713.
From 1996 catalogue: the slat-back chair enjoyed widespread popularity in New England during the colonial era. Most were the work of turners. During the seventeenth century they fashioned imposing examples with broad slats and thick turned posts. Eighteenth-century craftsmen produced a taller, more delicate version with arched slats. By 1770, a new form of slat-back has appeared. The chair was the work of the cabinet or chair maker, not the turner. None of the parts ware turned; instated the frame was composed of sawn and carved elements that were joined with rectangular mortise-and-tenon joints. The new form was far more stylish than its turned cousin. Decorative details such as the carved anthemia on the slats, leafage on the ears, molded stiles, and an upholstered seat enhance the new pattern.
From 1996 catalogue: the slat-back chair enjoyed widespread popularity in New England during the colonial era. Most were the work of turners. During the seventeenth century they fashioned imposing examples with broad slats and thick turned posts. Eighteenth-century craftsmen produced a taller, more delicate version with arched slats. By 1770, a new form of slat-back has appeared. The chair was the work of the cabinet or chair maker, not the turner. None of the parts ware turned; instated the frame was composed of sawn and carved elements that were joined with rectangular mortise-and-tenon joints. The new form was far more stylish than its turned cousin. Decorative details such as the carved anthemia on the slats, leafage on the ears, molded stiles, and an upholstered seat enhance the new pattern.
Collections
- Furniture
