Description:
Side chair with a shield back, inlaid decoration, and upholstered seat. This chair is similar to those produced by Lemuel Adams who was originally in partnership with Samuel Kneeland in Hartford, Connecticut until 1795, after which Adams continued alone. Shield-back or vase-back (the period term) designs appeared both in Hepplewhite's "Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide" first published in 1788, and Sheraton's "The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book" published in four volumns (1791–1794); these designs were immediately picked up in America where they were made in most major cabinetmaking centers. The inlaid decoration insludes stringing or line inlay along the back, splats, and front legs; an inlaid fan on the back; and icicle inlay at the top of the legs, over four dependent, graduated diamonds, which were burned to produce a shaded contrast. The back is plain with an even number (four) splats rather than an odd number of splats usually found with this back. The trapezoidal seat is upholstered over-the-rails with two rows of brass nails, swags over a straight line. The stiles are cherry, the splat has mahogany veneer, the corner blocks are white pine, and the seat rails are possibly birch. The chair was possibly made in Springfield.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Brass; Mahogany; Silk Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+64.118 |
