Side Chair
Furniture MakerMade by
Unknown
Date1785-1795
MediumPine, maple, ash, oak
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 37 1/8 x 21 x 19 1/2in. (94.3 x 53.3 x 49.5cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineIn memory of Elizabeth Noble Anderson
Object number1971.35.5
DescriptionSide chair in the Windsor style, with a crest rail, a fan-back, a plank seat, and turned stiles, legs, and stretchers. The fan-back consists of an oak crest rail supported by seven slender spindles between two turned posts; the spindles and posts are arranged close together at the bottom then separate, or fan, further up the back of the chair. The serpentine crest rail has a shaped upper edge, consisting of an arch in the center flanked by a rounded ear. The two posts are turned with baluster forms. The spindles are slanted back and joined to the seat in a semi-circular arrangement. The pine plank seat has contoured sides, front and a saucered, or recessed, upper surface with a flat section at the back where the spindles join the seat. Below the seat are four turned legs that are raked, or slanted out from top to bottom; each leg is turned with baluster and ring forms over a tapered ankle and foot. Each side of the chair has a stretcher with an ovoid turning in the center flanked by tapered sections. Between the side stretchers is a single medial stretcher with the same turned form.
Condition: The seat has some gouges in the finish at the front left side. The chair is refinished; an earlier red wash is located on the underside of the plank seat.
Design and Construction Details: The posts and spindles are tenoned up into the crest rail; the posts and the center and left of center spindle are also pinned. The posts are tenoned down through the seat at the sides of the spindle platform; a wedge is inserted into the end of the tenons. The spindles are tenoned down into the spindle platform. A narrow groove outlines the edges of the spindle platform. The seat is constructed of a solid plank of wood and supported on a through 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. A faint groove circles each lower leg to mark the placement of the stretchers.
Condition: The seat has some gouges in the finish at the front left side. The chair is refinished; an earlier red wash is located on the underside of the plank seat.
Design and Construction Details: The posts and spindles are tenoned up into the crest rail; the posts and the center and left of center spindle are also pinned. The posts are tenoned down through the seat at the sides of the spindle platform; a wedge is inserted into the end of the tenons. The spindles are tenoned down into the spindle platform. A narrow groove outlines the edges of the spindle platform. The seat is constructed of a solid plank of wood and supported on a through 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. A faint groove circles each lower leg to mark the placement of the stretchers.
Status
Not on view
