Side Chair
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
State of Connecticut
American
Furniture MakerMade by
Unknown
Date1800-1815
MediumOak, pine, ash
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (overall height x width x depth): 33 x 17 7/8 x 17 3/8in. (83.8 x 45.4 x 44.1cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineMuseum purchase
DescriptionSide chair in the Windsor style, with a square-back, bamboo turned posts, legs, and stretchers, and a plank seat. The back of the chair is formed by two horizontal rails, or bows, between two four-part bamboo-turned posts. Below the bottom bow are seven slender ash spindles. Between the two bows are the top of three spindles that extend up from below. The spindles and posts are slanted back; the spindles are joined to the seat in a semi-circular arrangement. The pine plank seat is square with rounded edges. The sides of the seat are chamfered, or cut at an angle. The plank has a saucered seat, or a concave top surface with a flat section at the back where the posts and spindles join the seat. The seat is supported by four three-part bamboo turned oak legs. Each side of the chair has a two-part bamboo-turned stretcher that joins the lower legs. A three-part bamboo turned medial stretcher joins the two side stretchers.
Condition: The chair is refinished. The underside of the seat has earlier black paint.
Design and Construction Details: The bows are tenoned into the upper posts. The center spindle, and the second spindle to either side are tenoned up through both bows. The remaining spindles are tenoned into the lower bow. The posts are tenoned down through the plank seat; a wedge is inserted into the end of each tenon. The spindles are tenoned down into the spindle platform. The seat is constructed of a solid plank of wood and supported on a tenon at the top of each leg; the front legs have tenons that extend through the seat. 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 chair is refinished. The underside of the seat has earlier black paint.
Design and Construction Details: The bows are tenoned into the upper posts. The center spindle, and the second spindle to either side are tenoned up through both bows. The remaining spindles are tenoned into the lower bow. The posts are tenoned down through the plank seat; a wedge is inserted into the end of each tenon. The spindles are tenoned down into the spindle platform. The seat is constructed of a solid plank of wood and supported on a tenon at the top of each leg; the front legs have tenons that extend through the seat. 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.
Object number1960.41.1
MarkingsThe underside of the seat has a burned mark of a shield with three clusters of grape vines on trellises inside the shield. The underside of the seat has the stamped number "CHS 41 1960 1" and an incised dot inside a circle.
Subject Terms
On View
On view
