Thomas Sheraton authored one of the Neoclassical period’s major design sources, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing-Book (issued in four parts between 1791 and 1794). This chair back, a composite of two designs published by Sheraton, was favored in Rhode Island and New York. It represents another element in the complex interchange between these two geographic centers, perceptible in the design and construction of the furniture produced in both areas (see B.66.11.1–.2). By this period regional preferences are increasingly difficult to discern. This homogeneity is explained by the availability of printed sources, a growing migration of artisans, and a burgeoning coastal trade. The use of ash in these armchairs is consistent with a New York origin.

Technical notes: Mahogany; black ash. The top of each arm is ornamented with a carved leaf. The chair backs consist of a stay rail, an integral splat, two stiles, and a crest rail. The seats were never outfitted with medial braces. The present tacking replicates the original arrangement.

Related examples: Hipkiss 1941, pp. 158–59, nos. 94, 95; Antiques 52 (July 1947) inside front cover; Ott 1965, pp. 18–19, no. 17; Antiques 101 (February 1972), p. 334; Fales 1976, p. 76, no. 140; Sack 1969–92, vol. 7, pp. 2060–61, no. P5443; Monkhouse and Michie 1986, pp. 180–81, no. 123.

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, 1998.