Side chair, one from a set of four

Date1760-1775

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Rappahannock River Basin

MediumCherry and oak

DimensionsOH. 37 1/2; OW. 21 1/2; SD. 18.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2007-120,1

DescriptionAppearance: Side chair with a shaped crest rail and flaring "ears"; pierced splat; trapezoidal slip-seat; straight skirt; cabriole front legs ending in paneled feet; rear legs integral with stiles shaped below seat rail ending in square feet.

Construction: The seat rails are pinned and no interior glue blocks were used. Knee blocks are glued to the front legs and the bottoms of seat rails.

Materials: All components of cherry.

Label TextThis cherry side chair is from an extant set of four that descended in the Beverley family at Blandfield plantation on the Rappahannock River in Essex County, Virginia. Research has demonstrated that it belongs to a group of closely related objects, most with histories of ownership in the lower Rappahannock basin. Other pieces in the group include a second set of chairs that share the Beverley history (CWF accession 1983-17). With splat, front legs, and blocked rear feet nearly identical to those on the present chair, these differ only in the incorporation of a wider crest rail and voluted trilobate front feet. Also closely associated is a privately owned cherry and yellow pine smoking chair with a long history in adjacent King and Queen County. Its splat is a shortened version of those in both Beverley chairs, while its shoe, knee blocks, front leg, and trifid front foot exactly match those on the chair shown here. These objects, together with a cherry and yellow pine dressing or writing table in the CWF collection (accession 1954-7), appear to be the work of a single unidentified Virginia cabinetmaker who practiced in one of the towns along the lower Rappahannock River during the third quarter of the eighteenth century. The most likely location for his shop is the town of Tappahannock, generally known as Hobbs Hole in the eighteenth century.

Tappahannock was a port of entry where six or more ships often anchored in the harbor at the same time. Located in Essex County, Tappahannock had its own Masonic Lodge by 1756, as well as prominent taverns, a room for public balls or "Assemblies," and several gentry residences. Nothing is known about Tappahannock's cabinet trade, but in view of its size and economy, the town might well have supported an artisan capable of producing chairs and tables like these.

Clues exist about the origin of the cabinetmaker or the influences at work on him. Both of the foot forms found on objects in the group parallel models used in eastern Pennsylvania, although the Virginia pieces depart from Pennsylvania cabinetmaking practices in other ways. Both foot shapes were also used extensively by contemporary British--particularly Irish--furniture makers. It is important to note that another shop operating in the lower Rappahannock basin at about the same time produced chairs and tables with cabriole legs and sharply pointed spade feet. Like the trifid and trilobate foot variations described above, this pointed foot form is also strongly associated with Irish cabinetmaking traditions (see CWF accession 1983-18). Given the Rappahannock's direct contacts with British ports via the tobacco trade, the isolated appearance of these Irish details within a confined geographic area strongly suggests the presence of an immigrant Irish cabinetmaker or an artisan who was familiar with Irish furniture.

InscribedNone
Markings"IIII" is chiseled into the rabbet of the front seat rail.
ProvenanceThe chair and its mates descended in the Beverley family of Essex Co., Va., and were used at their estate, Blandfield plantation, until 1983.