Baluster

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Williamsburg, Mayo House

MediumTulip Poplar; Paint

Dimensions1¾" x 1¾" x 27"

Object numberAF-8.3.1

DescriptionThis circa 1760 turned baluster for a closed string stair is from a Williamsburg house that no longer exists. It allows us to understand construction techniques, design aesthetics, and paint colors in Williamsburg around the time of the Revolution.
Label TextThis circa 1760 baluster is from a Williamsburg house that no longer exists. The house’s stair, minus this baluster, was reused in the reconstructed George Pitt House on Duke of Gloucester Street. While the stair rail and balusters had been stripped of all finishes before their installation in the Pitt House, this unaltered baluster retained its 18th-century paint layers. The Mayo Teal color in the Benjamin Moore Colonial Williamsburg paint line is based on the earliest color found on the baluster.
ProvenanceMayo House