Images(12)

Side Chair, Ladder back

Date1790-1820

OriginAmerica, Georgia (possibly) or South

MediumBlack walnut, ash, and rawhide (by eye)

DimensionsOH: 36”; OW: 19 1/8”; OD: 15 ½”; SD: 13 ¼”

Credit LineGift of Dale L. Couch in honor of Ronald L. Hurst

Object number2015-149

DescriptionAppearance: Turned, ladder back side chair with ball finials, inverted baluster shaped turnings on rear stiles between slats and front legs between seat rails and stretchers; tapered feet; three arched top and curved back slats; double front and side stretchers, rounded with swollen center, single rear stretcher of same design; rawhide seat stretched around seat rails and tied underneath seat; some fur remains on rawhide components.

Construction: The back slats are mortised into the rear posts, the upper slat is held in place with wooden pins that run through the leg posts. Seat lists and stretchers are post and hole construction. Rawhide seat is pierced, stretched around and nailed to the front posts and nailed to the back posts. Under the seat it is pierced and pulled tightly around the seat lists with rawhide thongs.

Materials
Walnut posts, slats and stretchers, ash seats lists and rawhide seat.
Label TextRelatively simple chairs can sometimes display complex cultural traditions through their ornament or choice of materials. The stretched hide seat, which was first used in Georgia and South Carolina in the 18th century, may have been influenced by African traditions brought to America by enslaved individuals. This locally sourced, inexpensive material has been found on 18th and 19th century chairs from the Savannah River Valley to Texas. The front legs and rear stiles of this chair have inverted baluster shaped elements, somewhat similar to those on the chair to the right/left, influenced by the Continental European turning traditions of the early French and German settlements along the South Carolina side of the Savannah River.
ProvenanceDonor acquired in Georgia's Savannah River area.