Images(2)

Rocking Chair

Date1770-1820

OriginBermuda

MediumCedar, pine, and rush (replaced)

DimensionsOverall: 36 1/4 × 18 5/8 × 24in. (92.1 × 47.3 × 61cm)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Edna G. Tucker and Ms. Wendy S. Tucker in memory of Edward Bolton (Teddy) Tucker, M.B.E.

Object number2024-25

DescriptionSplat-back rocking chair: Rocking chair with flat crest rail; stiles and crest rail slightly rounded on centers; upside-down vase shaped splat pierced in center conforming to outline of splat; small heart (not original) inlaid into center, top of splat above pierced element; molded shoe integral with rear seat rail; trapezoidal seat with rounded top edges of seat rails; slip seat with exposed wooden corners of pine with cedar thick veneer on tops of corners and woven rush bottom; straight legs with front, rear, and side stretchers all with rounded top, outer edges; tall rockers notched into legs and screwed to legs just below stretchers.
Label TextThis rocking chair descended in the Tucker family of Bermuda. While not in its original state, the piece represents the evolution of a chair within family use over centuries. The chair may have begun as a simple side chair and had rockers added at a later date. Through use, damage, and repair, the splat was turned upside down in the chair and an inlaid heart was added to cover a crack. The rush slipseat appears to have replaced an earlier seat. Square-back side chairs of this type were popular in Bermuda in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, following a pattern of similar fashion in England and Virginia.
ProvenanceCatharine Fitch Tucker [February 28, 1879-August 22,1970] gifted to nephew Edward Bolton (Teddy) Tucker, MBE [May 8, 1929-June 9, 2014]