Description:
Lolling chair or armchair with an upholstered back with a serpentine top and upholstered over-the rail seat; exposed serpentine arms terminating in carved, scrolled handholds; arm supports in a large molded C-scroll which connect to the side rails; and two straight, molded front legs and two flared rear legs which are joined by two straight plain side stretchers and a medial stretcher. Chairs of this general form were made in France and England during the early to mid eighteenth century. Although their popularity waned in Europe by the 1760s, it continued strongly here as the form developed into one with tall backs and freestanding slim, tapering wooden arms and legs. New England, especially Massachusetts, was the main center of production. The term "lolling" is suggestive of a genteel posture often pictured in period portraits, or as London's "Gentleman's Magazine" (1778, XLVIII, p. 587) notes: "two armed machine adapted to the indulgent purpose of lolling..." The seat rails are birch.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Brass; Mahogany Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+54.227 |
