Painted Side Chair

Dateca. 1835

MediumEastern white pine, maple, hickory, paint, and metallic powder

DimensionsOH: 31 1/2"; OW: 19"; OD: 18 3/4" OH: 80 cm.; OW: 48.2 cm.; OD: 47.6 cm.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1972.2000.4,1

DescriptionPainted side chair with tablet crest with rounded top edge; turned stiles in shape of a baluster over a ball are tenoned into the crest rail and seat rails; rectangular cane seat with rounded front rail flanked by shaped side rails that sweep up to meet stiles; turned front legs with cone shape top over a short baluster, over a cylinder, over a compressed ball, over a tapered foot; rounded rear legs tapering at top and bottom; rounded front, side, and rear stretchers.

Construction: The turned stiles and legs are tenoned into the seat rails, and the stiles are tenoned into the bottom of the crest rail.
Label TextGreco-Roman fancy chairs having an "elbow" at the juncture of the seat rails and stiles are usually associated with Baltimore, the city most closely linked to this design in the South. Although Baltimore chairmakers exported their products widely, this chair shows a Virginia interpretation of the form. Found in the Shenandoah Valley, the chair's simplified turnings, mahogany graining, and modest stenciled decoration further distance this chair from the designs and dates of Baltimore fancy chairs.
ProvenanceUnidentified auction, Dayton, Va.; Carson S. Knupp, Mt. Crawford, Va.