Armchair
Furniture MakerMade by
Ebenezer Tracy Jr.
(American, 1780 - 1822)
Date1803-1807
MediumChestnut, maple, ash, oak
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 34 3/16 x 25 1/8 x 21in. (86.8 x 63.8 x 53.3cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1986.128.1
DescriptionArmchair in the Windsor style, with a sack-back, turned posts, legs, and stretchers, and a plank seat. The sack back consists of an arched rail over a horizontal bow, or wooden stick, that encloses seven long swelled spindles on the back of the chair and curves forward to form the arms and flat handholds. The swelled spindles have a bulge in the lower half and are tapered up to the top. Each handhold consists of a flat scroll at the front with a stepped profile at the outer side. Each arm is supported by two additional short spindles and a post at the front that is turned with baluster forms. The back of the armchair is slanted back; the spindles and posts are joined to the seat in a semi-circular arrangement. The chestnut seat is oval with a saddled surface, or recessed surface with a projecting ridge at the front center, and a flat surface at the back where the spindles and posts join the seat. The sides and back of the plank are chamfered, or cut at an angle. Below the seat are four turned maple legs that are raked, or slanted out from top to bottom; each is turned with a sharp baluster form over a tapered ankle and foot. Each side of the chair has a single stretcher with an ovoid form in the center. Between the stretchers is a single medial stretcher, also with the same turning.
Condition: The front of the bow, at the center and to the right of center, has insect damage. An area of the bow has partially split in front of the center spindle. The chair is refinished.
Design and Construction Details: The arched rail is pinned and tenoned down through the bow; a small wedge is inserted into the end of each tenon. The arched rail is supported on a tenon at the top of each of the seven spindles that extends through the bow; four of the seven tenons are through tenons, and the center spindle is also pinned. The bow is supported on each side by through tenons at the top of the two short spindles and the turned post; a small wedge is inserted through the end of each of these tenons. All the spindles are tenoned down into the spindle platform. The posts are tenoned through the plank seat; a small wedge is inserted into the end of each tenon. The spindle platform is outlined with a narrow groove. The plank is supported on tenons 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.
Condition: The front of the bow, at the center and to the right of center, has insect damage. An area of the bow has partially split in front of the center spindle. The chair is refinished.
Design and Construction Details: The arched rail is pinned and tenoned down through the bow; a small wedge is inserted into the end of each tenon. The arched rail is supported on a tenon at the top of each of the seven spindles that extends through the bow; four of the seven tenons are through tenons, and the center spindle is also pinned. The bow is supported on each side by through tenons at the top of the two short spindles and the turned post; a small wedge is inserted through the end of each of these tenons. All the spindles are tenoned down into the spindle platform. The posts are tenoned through the plank seat; a small wedge is inserted into the end of each tenon. The spindle platform is outlined with a narrow groove. The plank is supported on tenons 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
