Side Chair
Furniture MakerAttributed to
John Wadsworth
(American, working 1793 - at least 1803)
Furniture MakerAttributed to
Horace Wadsworth
(American)
Date1798-1802
MediumPine, maple, basswood (seat), ash, oak, white and gilt paint
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 36 5/8 x 19 3/4 x 21 1/4in. (93 x 50.2 x 54cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1979.31.0
DescriptionWhite painted side chair in the Windsor style, with a bow-back, a plank seat, and turned legs and stretchers. The bow-back consists of a bow, or wooden loop, that is joined at either end into the plank seat and encloses nine slender 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 basswood 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 a baluster over a tapered ankle and foot. Each side of the chair has a stretcher that connects the lower legs. Between the stretchers is a single medial stretcher that is turned with bamboo forms.
Painted Decoration: The chair is painted white, with gold lines at the bow front, spindles, around the top of the seat, and circling some turned forms on the medial stretcher and front legs. The gilt line on each spindle has a small dot at either end. Below each end of the line on the bow front is a small gilt "X". The front of each front leg has two gold painted, stylized sprays of leaves.
Condition: The chair has been repainted, but has crazing on the bow-back, seat, and front legs. There are chips and flakes to the paint at the front edge of the seat and the lower front legs. The plank seat is cracked at the left side. A screw has been added to the joint where the left end of the bow extends down into the plank seat. A nail has been added to the tenon at the back of the left stretcher, the tenon at the top of the front left leg, and the tenon at the left side of the medial stretcher.
Design and Construction Details: The top of six of the nine spindles are tenoned up through the bow; the center and each side spindle are just tenoned 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. A narrow groove separates the spindle platform from the contoured top of the plank. 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.
Painted Decoration: The chair is painted white, with gold lines at the bow front, spindles, around the top of the seat, and circling some turned forms on the medial stretcher and front legs. The gilt line on each spindle has a small dot at either end. Below each end of the line on the bow front is a small gilt "X". The front of each front leg has two gold painted, stylized sprays of leaves.
Condition: The chair has been repainted, but has crazing on the bow-back, seat, and front legs. There are chips and flakes to the paint at the front edge of the seat and the lower front legs. The plank seat is cracked at the left side. A screw has been added to the joint where the left end of the bow extends down into the plank seat. A nail has been added to the tenon at the back of the left stretcher, the tenon at the top of the front left leg, and the tenon at the left side of the medial stretcher.
Design and Construction Details: The top of six of the nine spindles are tenoned up through the bow; the center and each side spindle are just tenoned 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. A narrow groove separates the spindle platform from the contoured top of the plank. 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.
Status
Not on view
