Child's Rocking Commode Chair

Period1750 - 1800

MediumRed painted pine

Dimensions27.72 × 14.25 × 21 in. (70.4 × 36.2 × 53.3 cm)

ClassificationsUnusual and Specialized Furniture

Credit LineGift of Edward H. Feltus III, 1962

Object number1990.633

DescriptionA four board child's commode chair on rockers, with a back of a single panel ornamented by a circular cut out shape on its crest. The side panels are cut out in shaped arm rests with hand terminals at the front. The seat contains a central circular cut out. Both rockers are made up of two parts - an inner original rocker, and another longer one added outside and nailed in place with hand wrought nails. An early split in the left hand side of the back panel has been stabilized with a horizontal cleat just under the crest. The chair is finished in old red paint.
Curatorial RemarksA rocking child's commode chair seems to be a contradiction today. But they were popular in New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley of New York in the second half of the eighteenth century. It was apparently believed that the rocking motion would help a child relax while undergoing toilet training. A shallow tin pan would be placed under the circular cut out in the seat. The addition of longer rockers on this diminutive commode chair took place early on, perhaps as the originals did not extend far enough to its rear.

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