Side chair, splat-back

Date1755-1765

Artist/Maker William Savery

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumBlack walnut and yellow pine

DimensionsOH: 39"; OD: 20 1/4"; OW: 21"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1958-616,1

DescriptionAppearance: consists of rectangular back with reverse S-curve stiles; stiles beaded on outer edges, and rounded on back; splat unpierced and shaped in a baluster form featuring scrolled ears; rear edges beveled; coved and molded shoe; crest rail featuring incised beading on the outer edge, a rounded back, and carved ears; trapezoidal slip seat; scalloped front seat rail; side and rear rails are undecorated. Each front leg possesses a top post with rounded corners; legs are cabriole in form and feature cleft knees, trifid feet, and ogee knee brackets; rear legs curve outward and are chamfered on all 4 edges; H-plan stretchers horizontally shaped.

Construction: all elements solid walnut (except mortise and tenon slip seat frames of yellow pine); front, side, and rear seat rails tenoned into legs (there are no through tenons on rear legs); front rail and front end of side rails single pegged; rear of side rail double pegged, and rear rail single pegged; medial stretcher tenoned into side stretchers which are in turn tenoned into front and rear legs; 4 knee brackets, each secured with 2 rosehead nails; splat tenoned into both crest rail and shoe; scrolled ears of splat applied with butt joints (proper right ear replaced); shoe secured with 2 square head nails; stiles tenoned into crest rail.
Label TextWilliam Savery attached his printed label to this side chair advertising that the buyer could procure "All Sorts of Chairs and / Joiners Work / Made and Sold by / William Savery, / At the Sign of the / Chair, a little be- / low the Market, in / Second Street, / Philadelphia." Philadelphia chairmakers competed with imported furniture from New England by producing stylish chairs at reasonable prices.
InscribedPrinted label pasted to outer side of rear seat rail. Reads: "All Sorts of Chairs and / Joiners Work / Made and Sold by / William Savery, / At the Sign of the / Chair, a little be- / low the Market, in / Second Street,/Philadelphia." "III" incised on underside front of slip seat.
Markings"III" incised on underside front of slip seat.
ProvenanceAccording to a letter by Philip F. Cowan (Schuykill House Antiques, Box 142, Black Rock Road, Phoenixville, Pa) the chairs were purchased from Anna Hartshorne of Germantown, Philadelphia sometime in 1950s. These were then sold to Robert Trump who sold them to David Stockwell. According to Trump, he purchased the chairs from a member of the Brown-Sharp family also of Germantown. It is possible that both could be talking about different chairs.

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