Easy chair with original upholstery fragments

Date1750-1760

MediumPrimary wood: mahogany. Secondary woods: beech and deal. Linen upholstery with horsehair and straw.

DimensionsOH: 47" OW(arm to arm): 32 3/4" OD(seat): 25 1/2"

Credit LineGift of Mr. Edward T. Lacy

Object number1986-267

DescriptionAppearance: Easy chair with serpentine crest rail; shaped wings flow into horizontally scrolled arms which flare outward; C-scroll arm supports; trapezoidal seat; front cabriole legs flanked by knee blocks and terminate in scroll feet; legs and knee blocks with acanthus leaf and scroll carving; side seat rails have rear flanges at rear legs; rear legs square at seat rail, rounded beneath, and terminate in stump feet. Easy chair survives with original upholstery foundation on the back and wings.

Construction: Beech crest rail tenoned into beech stiles; stiles taper at bottom and rest in beech side seat rail rabbets; beech lower back rail half lapped, nailed, and glued to stiles; beech wings attached to stiles with one large dovetail and replaced screws; one small, shaped, beech block nailed to top of each stile to create sharp corners at ends of crest rail; wings attached to beech wing supports with lap joints and nails; wing supports nailed and inset into side seat rails; deal arms half lapped and nailed to insides of wing supports and nailed to vertical beech arm supports which are tenoned into side rails; deal, sloping block nailed and glued to arm supports, tenoned into side seat rails with small sections cut out for seat webbing; all beech seat rails tenoned and pinned to mahogany legs; rear legs angled to butt against backs of tapering stiles, and nailed to stiles; rear mahogany flanges tenoned and glued to rear legs and glued to bottoms of side seat rails; rear beech brace blocks sit in angled notches in rear and side seat rails (front blocking missing); mahogany knee blocks glued to each side of both front legs and to faces of front and side seat rails.
Inscribed"W./Ln." in ink on linen on back of chair.
MarkingsNone visible on chair frame; linen weaver or seller's mark "W. Ln." inked on linen on back of chair.