Side chair

Dateca. 1750

Possibly by John Welch

MediumMahogany, maple, and white pine.

DimensionsOH: 38 1/2"; OW: 22"; OD: 21 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2001-820

DescriptionApperance: Side chair supported at the front by cabriole legs terminating in small, webbed ball feet and ornamented with a shell on each knee below a balloon-shaped seat, by a stretcher base with a medial stretcher, and by rear stiles characterized by a flat front surface and pornounced cyma curves that envelope a solid splat with pronounced scrolls and that are surmounted by a deeply carved shell.

Construction: The stiles are tenoned into the crest rail. The splat is mortised and glued into the crest rail and shoe. The shoe is glued and nailed to the back rail. The side rails are tenoned into the front legs and stiles (which are integral with the rear legs). Triangular rear corner blocks are glued and nailed to the rails, there is evidence of now missing similar front corner blocks. The rails are rabbeted to form a support for the slip seat. Front and rear turned stretchers are mortised into legs and medial stretcher is mortised into side stretchers.

Slip seat frame side rails are tenoned into its front and back rails in the conventional manner. Upholstery attached to seat frame using non-invasive technique.
Label TextCarved shells, curvilinear backs and seat rails, and ball and claw feet characterized many stylish American chairs of the mid-18th century. Specialist carver John Welch, known for his picture frame carving, produced the shells for some Boston chairs of this form.
MarkingsSeat rail incised "V"; slip seat incised "IV".
ProvenancePurchased by Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Stone from John Walton, New York; The Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Chipstone assigned two accession numbers to this chair: 1952.9,1 and 1952.3a.