Child's Rocking Commode Chair
Periodca. 1752
MediumHard pine
Dimensions24.5 × 14 × 25.5 in. (62.2 × 35.6 × 64.8 cm)
InscribedCrudely inscribed with white paint on the interior of the back panel, "Lydia / HOLMES / 1752." The monogram "LH" is painted within a polychrome shield on the exterior of the back panel.
ClassificationsUnusual and Specialized Furniture
Credit LineMuseum Collection
Object number1985.532
DescriptionA simply constructed child's chamber pot rocking chair. It consists of a solid back panel, the crest of which includes a central round finial device flanked by scrolled tabs, and two solid side panels with curving arm rests ending in flat circular scrolls, above a solid seat with a circular cutout for a chamber pot. The chair assembly sits atop a pair of solid board rockers with a shallow sweep and scalloped upper back edges. The chair retains its early blue and red painted surfaces, as well as a delicately painted polychrome ornament on the back of the chair that features the monogram "LH" within a shield suspended from a blue ribbon bow, flanked by floral sprays.Curatorial RemarksA common form of child's chair that prevailed over a long period of time, some examples were made with a restraining bar across the front. Chamber pot, or "potty" chairs for children were often fitted with rockers as it was felt that the gentle rocking motion was conducive to potty training. The color of this chair was originally blue. It was repainted dark red in the early nineteenth century, and delicately decorated with the initials "LH" in a shield held by a blue ribbon and flanked by floral branches. This example is distinguished by a boldly cut out crest shape, equally bold arm cutouts, and rockers that are scalloped on their upper edge.NotesA crudely executed painted inscription on the inside back of the child's rocking chamber pot chair reads, "Lydia / HOLMES / 1752." It may have been made for Lydia Holmes (b. 1749), a daughter of Samuel Holmes (1726 - 1769) and Mary Stout (1727 - 1773) of Middletown, Monmouth County. Lydia married to General Jarratt Stillwell (1757 - 1843), a prominent local figure. It may have been redecorated in the early nineteenth century for use by her namesake niece Lydia Holmes (1800 - 1888), a daughter of Stout Holmes (1756 - 1817) and Mary Ogborne (1766 - 1831). The younger Lydia married to William G. Wyckoff (1796 - 1870) of Holmdel. The Stillwells spent the last years of their lives in New York City. A pastel portrait of Lydia Holmes Stillwell was taken there in 1827 when she was seventy-eight years old. The portrait is reproduced in Dr. John E. Stillwell, The History of Captain Richard Stillwell, son of Lieutenant Nicholas Stillwell, and His Descendants (New York: Printed Privately, 1930), opposite 132.
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