Side Chair
Furniture MakerMade by
Thomas Cotton Hayward
(American, 1774 - 1845)
Date1796-1800
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 36 1/16 x 18 9/16 x 20 11/16in. (91.6 x 47.1 x 52.5cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1982.41.0
DescriptionBlack 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 to the plank seat and encloses seven slender swelled spindles of varying height that conform to the shape of the loop. The bow has a curved face and beaded edges. The swelled spindles have a bulge in the lower third and are tapered up to the top. 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 baluster and ring forms 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. Each of the stretchers has a turned ovoid form in the center and elongated tapered sides.
Condition: The black paint is worn or flaking on the seat, lower legs and stretchers. It is a later addition, as a red stain is visible where the black paint has flaked. The center spindle is repainted or replaced. A nail has been added to the tenon at the right end of the medial stretcher.
Design and Construction Details: The top of the three center spindles are tenoned up through the bow; the remaining four spindles are just tenoned up into the bow. The bow and each spindle are tenoned down into the spindle platform; the center spindle and the ends of the bow are tenoned through the plank. A narrow groove outlines the spindle platform and separates it from the contoured top of the plank. 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, with the exception of the bottom of the center spindle, have a narrow wedge inserted through the end of the tenon.
Condition: The black paint is worn or flaking on the seat, lower legs and stretchers. It is a later addition, as a red stain is visible where the black paint has flaked. The center spindle is repainted or replaced. A nail has been added to the tenon at the right end of the medial stretcher.
Design and Construction Details: The top of the three center spindles are tenoned up through the bow; the remaining four spindles are just tenoned up into the bow. The bow and each spindle are tenoned down into the spindle platform; the center spindle and the ends of the bow are tenoned through the plank. A narrow groove outlines the spindle platform and separates it from the contoured top of the plank. 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, with the exception of the bottom of the center spindle, have a narrow wedge inserted through the end of the tenon.
Status
Not on view
