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Chair 2013-106
Side Chair, Ladder Back
Chair 2013-106

Side Chair, Ladder Back

Date1820-1880
OriginAmerica, Georgia, Effingham County (possibly)
MediumWood and paint
DimensionsOH: 29 ½”; OW: 17 ¾”; OD: 13 ¼”
Credit LineGift of Jeff Finch
Object number2013-106
DescriptionSlat-back side chair with two horizontal rectangular slats with incurving top corners and a triangular notch in the center of the lower edge; stiles with slightly rounded, faceted legs that taper above legs towards top, upper portion of stiles above legs rectangular in cross section with flattened faces; front legs slightly rounded with facets; feet taper towards floor; double front and side stretchers and single rear stretcher; all stretchers rounded; woven splint seat (replaced).
Label TextAmerican shaved chairs with elements formed by riving, sawing and shaping rather than turning are found predominantly in New England and Southern Appalachia. This Georgia example represents a Continental European influence on 18th and 19th century Georgia furniture. Chairs of this sort are found depicted in European paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries. Although the Georgia chair does share similarities in design and construction with other 17th and 18th century examples from the New England, it was more likely influenced directly from Europe through immigration rather than by migration from elsewhere in America. Macon, Georgia, where the chair was recovered, is approximately 50 miles from the 1733 Salzburger settlement in Georgia in modern day Effingham County. The proximity of the settlement is suggestive of a connection and possible inspiration or influence on the chair’s design.
ProvenanceRecovered in Macon, Georgia.