Side chair

Date1700-1720

MediumMaple, oak, leather and brass

DimensionsOH: 47 1/4"; OW: 18 1/2"; OD: 18 3/4"; SD: 15 1/4"

Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. Miodrag R. Blagojevich.

Object number1976-428

DescriptionSide chair with a foliate carved crest rail over a central arched top leather upholstered back flanked by urn and flattened ball finals over tapered columnar stiles with short baluster turnings, reel and rings below, blocked at junction with crest and stay rails with scored cylinders above the seat; trapezoidal leather seat upholstered over the rails; rear legs square in cross section angle backward near bottom to form raked feet; front legs with short baluster turned segments between blocked segments at junctions with front and side stretchers over ball feet; side and rear stretchers rectangular in cross section; turned front stretcher with opposed balusters centered on a reel with sharp edged rings near ends.
Label TextDuring the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries leather upholstered side chairs with tall backs were produced and exported from Boston in such vast numbers that the form came to be known as the 'Boston chair'. Based on English prototypes, Boston chairs were available in varying degrees of quality and decoration. The presence of an ornate, carved crest rail on this sample suggests that it would have been more expensive than the average chair. Despite its leather upholstery, the wide gap between the seat and the bottom rail of the back indicates that this chair would have been supplied with a thick seat cushion.