Side Chair

Stylistic differences between this chair and B.69.407.1–.2 represent the two predominant interpretations in Late Baroque Philadelphia chair making. The present example is characteristic of the more complex type, with its three-part, or trifid, foot and vase-shaped banister advancing a dramatic, three-dimensional contour, which, in concert with the scrolled volutes, evokes a sense of movement not realized in the previous chairs. The combination of these elements, depending on the client’s taste and pocketbook, resulted in either a simple or complex expression.

Technical notes: Black walnut; black walnut (slip seat front and sides), southern yellow pine (slip seat back). The construction is typical of Philadelphia chairs from this period (see B.69.69). The seat retains its original upholstery foundation. The seat frame and slip seats are incised I and IIII, respectively.

Related examples: Sack 1950, p. 5; Antiques 81 (March 1962), p. 237; Comstock 1962, no. 167; Heckscher 1985, p. 85, no. 40; Sotheby’s, New York, sale 5500, October 24–25,1986, lot 242; Sack 1993, p. 32.

Book excerpt: Warren, David B., Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.