Side Chair, Splat-Back

Date1760-1790

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Salem area

MediumMahogany and white pine

DimensionsOH: 38 1/2" OW: 21 1/2" OD: 17 3/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1970-130

DescriptionSplat-back side chair. Serpentine crest rail with voluted ears and central piercing and foliate carving; pierced "owl's eye" shaped splat with central interlaced pattern; molded shoe; trapezoidal slip seat; front and side seat rails molded on upper edges; front cabriole legs have sharp knees and end in scored pad and exceptionally thick disc feet; rear tapering legs end in square feet; ogee curved knee blocks applied to front and sides of front legs; flankers applied to side seat rails and rear legs.
Label TextEndless variations of chairs with this splat design were made in Massachusetts during the second half of the 18th century. A set of six without carving, but similar in other details, was owned by Israel Sack, Inc. in 1970. An example with a fluted shell and ball-and-claw feet was in the Girl Scout Loan Exhibition, and a pair of similar, but not identical, carved crest rails was also owned by Israel Sack, Inc. The cushioned pad feet on this chair are even more exaggerated than those on #1939-102,1 and are further emphasized by the unusual scored lines. Several other Massachusetts chairs of the period have similar embellishments. (This feature can be seen on a set of very unusual chairs that descended in the Winslow Warren family of Massachusetts.) The squared rear legs are frequently found on Massachusetts chairs without stretchers.
Inscribed"III" cut into inside of front seat rail. "VI" is carved into slip-seat frame.
ProvenanceThis chair descended in the Dane family of Andover, Massachusetts, along with #1970-132; Roland B. Hammond Inc., North Andover, Mass.