Fiddleback Side Chair

Period1770 - 1800

MediumMaple, and ash

Dimensions39.75 × 19.44 × 15.13 in. (101 × 49.4 × 38.4 cm)

ClassificationsSeating Furniture

Credit LineGift of Mrs. William C. Riker

Object number1991.516

DescriptionOne of two, the other numbered 1991.539. A fiddleback side chair with bow shaped crest rail with clipped ends that are pinned to the top of the column turned rear stiles. A single vase shaped splat is tenoned into a squared bottom back rail. Thickly turned front posts extend 1 1/4" above the seat lists and end in pad feet. The front stretcher consists of a tripartite ring turning flanked by two balls. Pairs of simple turned side stretchers and a single simple turned rear stretcher brace the lower chair frame. An early and possibly original woven rush seat has been painted yellow and then over-varnished.
Curatorial RemarksThe fiddleback chair form was introduced into central New Jersey about 1770. It remained popular into the nineteenth century. This example, with its unusual shaped crest rail, tripartite turned front stretcher, and "Country Queen Anne" front legs that end in pad feet, is representative of a type of chair made throughout the greater New York City / Tristate area.

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