Armchair

1 of 28

Type: Decorative arts(Opens in new tab)
Date: n.d.
Accession number: 2017.5.11
Maker: Unknown, American(Opens in new tab) (American)
Dimensions: 48 × 24 × 23 in. (121.9 × 61 × 58.4 cm.)
Medium: maple and rush
Credit: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gail-Oxford Collection
Department: American Art
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Tall, narrow, slat-back chairs were very popular in America in the second quarter of the 18th century. Often made in sets of six or eight and decorated in a variety of paint colors and finishes, they were produced in both rural and urban shops. Rush seats such as the one seen here could be ordered in a variety of weaves and in degrees of quality ranging from fine to superfine. Prices varied accordingly. This handsome chair has elegant, pointed, bulb-shaped finials, five graduated slats with a gracefully arched profile on both the top and bottom edges, and a double vase-and-ring stretcher. These features are typical of chairs produced in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and throughout the Delaware
River Valley.