Roundabout Chair
Furniture MakerPossibly made by the
Lathrop-Royce Shop Tradition
(American)
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Joash Roys
(American, born 1716)
Date1745-1760
MediumMaple, ash, rush
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 30 9/16 x 29 15/16 x 25 1/4in. (77.6 x 76 x 64.1cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1969.55.0
DescriptionMaple roundabout chair in the Queen Anne, or late baroque, style, with semi-circular crest and arm rails, solid splat-backs, turned stiles and stretchers, a cabriole front leg, and a square rush seat. The back of the chair is formed by a flat crest rail with a small spur at each side, atop a semi-circular arm rail with a flat, scrolled handhold at each end. This is supported at the sides and back of the chair by three stiles and two solid vase-shaped splats, one each between the stiles. Each of the stiles are turned above the seat with a conical form, below the seat each stile forms a straight back leg turned with a cone and block forms over a baluster-shaped foot. The rush seat is square; the seat rails are flat, and have a beaded outer and inner edge. The woven rush seat sits inside the frame created by the seat rails. The front cabriole leg rests on a pad foot. Knee bracket returns, with a shaped lower edge consisting of a cyma curve, are applied to the underside of the front seat rails where they join the front leg. A pair of turned, crossed stretchers connects each leg.
Condition: There are multiple nail or tack holes in the top of the trim strips. The rush is replaced. A small piece of wood is missing from the ring at the top of the right stile.
Design and Construction Details: The crest rail is constructed of a single piece of wood. The flat arm rail is constructed in two curved sections that are butted together in the center. The arm rail is nailed to the underside of the crest rail. The arm rail is supported on round tenons at the top of the three stiles. The splats are tenoned into the arm rail above and into the seat rails below. Each seat rail is tenoned and pinned into the stile and the top of the front leg. The rush is woven around a separate square frame, with exposed blocks at each corner, which rests on diagonal corner struts that are nailed to the interior corners where the seat rails meet the stiles and front leg. The seat frame is held in place in the chair frame by trim strips, or strips of wood, at the top of the seat rails and front leg. These strips of wood have a molded top surface and are nailed in place. The knee returns are nailed to the underside of the seat rails and the side of the cabriole knee. Each stretcher is tenoned into the legs just above the foot; a nail secures each of these joints. The interior corner of the block at the bottom of each stile is canted. The stretchers meet at a block in the center of each stretcher. Each of these blocks is cut-out to accommodate the other stretcher. This joint is secured with a nail through the underside.
NotesHistorical Note: According to Mildred T. Roys, the Royce homestead was built in Wallingford, Connecticut, in 1672, and it is still standing. The family later spelled their name as Roys. The home became an inn, known as the Washington Elm House. It was owned by members of the Roys family until 1940, when it became the property of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA). Joash Roys took this chair from the Royce homestead in the 1740s when he moved to Sheffield, Massachusetts. (Hudson 3/10/2006)Condition: There are multiple nail or tack holes in the top of the trim strips. The rush is replaced. A small piece of wood is missing from the ring at the top of the right stile.
Design and Construction Details: The crest rail is constructed of a single piece of wood. The flat arm rail is constructed in two curved sections that are butted together in the center. The arm rail is nailed to the underside of the crest rail. The arm rail is supported on round tenons at the top of the three stiles. The splats are tenoned into the arm rail above and into the seat rails below. Each seat rail is tenoned and pinned into the stile and the top of the front leg. The rush is woven around a separate square frame, with exposed blocks at each corner, which rests on diagonal corner struts that are nailed to the interior corners where the seat rails meet the stiles and front leg. The seat frame is held in place in the chair frame by trim strips, or strips of wood, at the top of the seat rails and front leg. These strips of wood have a molded top surface and are nailed in place. The knee returns are nailed to the underside of the seat rails and the side of the cabriole knee. Each stretcher is tenoned into the legs just above the foot; a nail secures each of these joints. The interior corner of the block at the bottom of each stile is canted. The stretchers meet at a block in the center of each stretcher. Each of these blocks is cut-out to accommodate the other stretcher. This joint is secured with a nail through the underside.
Historical Note: According to research performed by CHS Geneaologist Judith E. Johnson, there may be some question regarding the accuracy of the provenance provided by Mildred T. Roys. Mildred Roys is descended from Samuel Royce (he is her great great great great great grandfather). However, the family homestead was not built by that line of the family. It was built by Samuel's brother, Nehemiah Royce. The brothers would have to have shared ownership of the homestead, or Nehemiah Royce would have to have passed ownership to his brother Samuel. Otherwise, Samuel's grandson, Joash Roys, might not have lived on the homestead and removed furniture from it, and Mildred Roys stated. (Hudson 8/2/2006)
Roundabout chairs, or corner chairs, can be found in Connecticut inventories as early as 1705, when Israel Chauncey's estate was assessed in Stratford. They were made by urban craftsmen up to the time of the Revolution, and they continued to be produced by rural chairmakers into the nineteenth century. At times, roundabout chairs were produced en suite with larger groups of furniture, or they were made in pairs. The precise function of roundabout chairs has not been determined. Due to their form, they were well suited for use as desk or writing chairs. Roundabout chairs may have also served as library chairs, as suggested by a portrait of John Bours by John Singleton Copley (1738-1815) in the Worcester Art Museum (1908.7). The portrait shows John Bours seated in a roundabout chair with a book in his hand. (Hunt 3/30/2006)
Status
Not on view
