Images(5)

Easy chair

Date1795-1810

OriginAmerica, Rhode Island (probably)

MediumBirch, white pine, maple, linen

DimensionsOH: 45 3/4"; OW: 29 1/4"; OD: 28"

Credit LineGift of Earl W. and Eleanor G. Sargent

Object number1977-215

DescriptionEasy chair with serpentine crest rail, rounded wings above slightly horizontally scrolled arms; trapezoidal slipseat over frame and lid for chamber pot; exposed (non upholstered) front and side rails; tapered front legs, square in cross section; squared and slightly backward raking rear legs; side stretchers rectangular in cross section; upholstered in original linen.
Label TextEasy chairs were often upholstered in plain linen and then fitted with loose cases that could be removed for laundering. The original linen covering of this example is largely intact, but there is no evidence of a show cloth having been attached to the frame.

Many easy chairs of the period were fitted with a chamber pot. Although most people concealed the pot with a loose cushion, the maker of this example designed a slip seat with a wooden frame.
ProvenanceInherited by donor from family of her paternal grandfather, Rufus Greene, who was born and raised in Apponaug, Rhode Island and later resided in Providence. The chair came from the family in Apponaug.