Side Chair
Period1770 - 1795
MediumMahogany, and unidentified softwood blocks
Dimensions38 × 22.25 × 18 in. (96.5 × 56.5 × 45.7 cm)
ClassificationsSeating Furniture
Credit LineGift of Miss Mildred Enright, 1942
Object number1991.637
DescriptionAn open back side chair with a bow shaped crest rail that features a carved foliate central motif and carved foliate ears. A symmetrical interlaced splat combines pierced and scrolling elements above a quatrefoil near its base. The slip seat sits on plain rails with molded upper edges. Four square or Marlboro legs are braced with plain rectangular stretchers in an "H" assembly with the addition of a single rear stretcher. The inner corners of the rear legs are chamfered.Curatorial RemarksThe carving on this side chair, although ambitious, is not well executed. It was certainly made in the Philadelphia / Delaware Valley area, but not necessarily in the city itself. The chair lacks through tenons where the side rails attach to the rear stiles, a standard Philadelphia practice, and it is not numbered on the inside surface of the front seat rail. Association collection records remain silent on how this imposing chair entered its furniture holdings.
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