Side Chair (one of a set of four)

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Side Chair (one of a set of four)
Datec. 1750–1800
Probable placeBoston area, Massachusetts, United States
MediumMahogany, birch; birch
Dimensions37 1/4 × 24 × 21 1/4 in. (94.6 × 61 × 54 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.69.135.4
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

This strapwork pattern was the most popular Rococo chair design in Massachusetts. In addition to its identifiable outline, other regional attributes include shallow carving, retracted side claws, persistence of stretchers, thin interior seat rails, and blunt, molded ears. This set of chairs, together with the previous example (B.69.361.2–.9), suggests the range of options available, such as the amount of carving, type of foot, and manner of upholstery. Despite the pattern’s prevalence, the only documented examples are those for which George Bright billed Jonathan Bowman in 1770.

Technical notes: Mahogany, birch (rear seat rails); birch. The construction is similar to that of  B.57.75. The seat rails are secured by large, triangular corner blocks. Attached to each chair is a typed label that reads: “Formerly the property of Lieut. Governor Hutchinson. Saved from his house in Garden Court Street, Boston, when it was sacked by the Sons of Liberty, August 26th, 1765.” The origin of this account is unknown. Thomas Hutchinson lived from 1711 to 1780.

Related examples: See B.69.361.2–.9.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1988.


ProvenancePossibly Thomas Hutchinson (1711–1780), Boston [1]; [Collings & Collings, New York, by 1924 ] [2]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, December 31, 1924; given to MFAH, 1969 [3].

[1] Twentieth century labels attached to the four chairs state: “Formerly the property of Lieut. Governor Hutchinson. Saved from his house in Garden Court Street, Boston, when it was sacked by the Sons of Liberty, August 26th, 1765.” A Windsor chair shown on Historic New England’s collections module bears a similar label, noting that it was from “the Milton home of Governor Hutchinson.”
[2] Regarding the four chairs owned by the MFAH, a bill of sale from Collings & Collings records the purchase of two chairs.
[3] Two of the chairs may have remained in Miss Ima Hogg’s personal collection until her death in 1975, at which time her estate would have released them to the MFAH.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Label attached to chair: Formerly the property of Lieut. Governor Hutchinson. Saved from his house in Garden Court Street, Boston, when it was sacked by the Sons of Liberty, August 26th, 1765 [label typed] [origin of account unknown]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Side Chair (one of a set of four)
c. 1750–1800
Mahogany, birch; birch
B.69.135.1
Side Chair (one of a set of four)
c. 1750–1800
Mahogany, birch; birch
B.69.135.2
Side Chair (one of a set of four)
c. 1750–1800
Mahogany, birch; birch
B.69.135.3
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1805–1820
Mahogany, birch, and unidentified inlay; birch and soft maple
B.57.70.1
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1805–1820
Mahogany, birch, and unidentified inlay; birch and soft maple
B.57.70.2
Side Chair
c. 1815–1830
Mahogany and birch; birch
B.85.18
scan from file photograph
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany, unidentified inlay; birch
B.69.378.1
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany, unidentified inlay; birch
B.69.378.2
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, ash, beech, birch, and hard maple
B.69.376.1
scan from file photograph
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, ash, beech, birch, and hard maple
B.69.376.2
Side Chair (one of a pair)
John Townsend
1800
Mahogany; birch, soft maple, eastern white pine, and poplar
B.66.11.1
Side Chair (one of a pair)
John Townsend
1800
Mahogany; birch, soft maple, eastern white pine, and poplar
B.66.11.2