Side Chair
Furniture MakerMade by
Beriah Green
(American, 1774 - 1863)
Date1803-1805
MediumMaple and various other woods, reddish-brown paint
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 36 3/4 x 18 3/16 x 19 1/16in. (93.3 x 46.2 x 48.4cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1969.7.4
DescriptionDark red painted side chair in the Windsor style, with a bow-back, a plank seat, and bamboo turned spindles, legs, and stretchers. The bow-back consists of a bow, or wooden loop, that is joined at either end to the plank seat and encloses eight slender bamboo-turned spindles of varying height that conform to the shape of the loop. The bow has a flat face and beaded edges. The bow and spindles are slanted back; the spindles are joined to the seat in a semi-circular arrangement. The plank seat is shield-shaped and saddled, or recessed with a raised ridge at the front edge; the seat has a flat section at the back where the spindles join the seat. The sides of the plank are curved and chamfered, or cut at an angle. Below the seat are four turned legs that are raked, or slanted out from top to bottom; each leg is turned with bamboo-style forms and a short tapered ankle and foot. Each side of the chair has a bamboo-turned stretcher that connects the lower legs. Between the stretchers is a single medial stretcher, also turned with a bamboo-style form.
Condition: The very top of the right-most spindle has broken and been repaired. The top edges of the two front corners of the seat have been chipped and gouged. There are several spots of discoloration on the seat. There is a nail through the tenon at the top of the center spindle. The red paint is not original; it is applied over an earlier black paint.
Design and Construction Details: The top of the three center spindles are tenoned up through the bow; the remaining spindles are just tenoned up into the bow. The bow and each spindle are tenoned down into the spindle platform; the ends of the bow are tenoned through the plank. The spindle platform is outlined with a narrow groove. The seat is constructed of a solid plank of wood and supported on a tenon at the top of each leg. The side stretchers are tenoned into the lower legs. The medial stretcher is tenoned into the side stretchers. All the tenons are inserted at an angle, where necessary, to give the proper slant to the bow and each of the spindles and legs. All the through tenons have a narrow wedge inserted into the end of the tenon.
Condition: The very top of the right-most spindle has broken and been repaired. The top edges of the two front corners of the seat have been chipped and gouged. There are several spots of discoloration on the seat. There is a nail through the tenon at the top of the center spindle. The red paint is not original; it is applied over an earlier black paint.
Design and Construction Details: The top of the three center spindles are tenoned up through the bow; the remaining spindles are just tenoned up into the bow. The bow and each spindle are tenoned down into the spindle platform; the ends of the bow are tenoned through the plank. The spindle platform is outlined with a narrow groove. The seat is constructed of a solid plank of wood and supported on a tenon at the top of each leg. The side stretchers are tenoned into the lower legs. The medial stretcher is tenoned into the side stretchers. All the tenons are inserted at an angle, where necessary, to give the proper slant to the bow and each of the spindles and legs. All the through tenons have a narrow wedge inserted into the end of the tenon.
Status
Not on view
