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Armchair
Armchair

Armchair

Furniture Maker
Date1750-1780
MediumMaple, rush
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 45 1/8 x 23 1/8 x 24 3/4in. (114.6 x 58.7 x 62.9cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineGift of Helen Brown
Object number1910.1.0
DescriptionMaple armchair in the Queen Anne, or late baroque, style, with a yoke-shaped crest rail, a vase-shaped splat, turned front legs, a turned front stretcher, and a rush seat. The back of the chair is formed by a yoke-shaped crest rail atop two stiles. The top edge of the crest rail is bowed down in the center, with an arch to each side. Centered below the crest rail is a solid, vase-shaped splat, which attaches at the bottom to the stay rail. The front of the stay rail is molded with a cyma curve, or S-curve. Above the seat, each stile curves backward. Below the seat, each stile forms a leg that is slanted backward. Each arm is bowed down in the center and has a scrolled handhold that extends well past the top of the front leg. The top surface of each arm and handhold has a raised ridge. Each front leg is turned with a baluster over three blocks, each separated by a short baluster, over a Spanish foot (the bottom of each front foot is damaged). Above the seat, each front leg supports the arm. The chair has a trapezoidal rush seat. The front stretcher that connects the front legs is turned with a ring-and-ball form. The sides and the back each have one rectangular stretcher.

Condition: Each front foot is missing portions of the front and outer side. The wood around the wooden pins where the splat joins the stay rail is splitting. The armchair is varnished, and the rush seat is replaced.

Design and Construction Details: The crest rail is supported by a tenon at the top of each stile. The splat is tenoned into the crest rail above and into the stay rail below; both of these joints are double pinned with very small wooden pins. The sides of the splat, and the back edges of the stiles above the arms, are chamfered. The stay rail is tenoned into each stile. The back of each arm is tenoned and pinned into the stile. Each front leg is tenoned and pinned into the arm above. Each seat rail is bladelike, with a rounded outer edge and a tapered inner edge. The seat rails and the front stretcher have round tenons that extend into the front or back legs. Each side stretcher is tenoned and pinned into the front and back legs. The back stretcher has rectangular tenons that extend into the back legs.
NotesHistorical Note: According to museum records, this was the pulpit chair of the Moravian Church in Sharon, Connecticut. The Society of United Brethren, commonly called Moravians, was a Christian society. The Moravian mission to the Native American people in the Sharon area was discontinued in about 1750. (Hudson 3/29/2004)
Status
Not on view
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