Description:
One of a partial set of two Chippendale, Gothic-back side chairs supported by straight legs and a medial stretcher base, which descended in the Dwight family of Springfield, Massachusetts, and were probably made in the Bliss shop of Springfield, by one of three brothers, Festus Bliss (1762-1810) or Paul Bliss (1766-1813) or Pelatiah Bliss (1770-1826). These chairs were probably first owned by the Hon. Thomas Dwight (1758-1819) as part of a larger set. Born in Springfield, Dwight graduated from Harvard College in 1778, studied law and established a practice in Springfield. He also served in various local and state offices and as a Representative to the 8th United States Congress in 1804 and 1805. These chairs with pierced "gothic" splats (in reference to the pointed arch at the center of the back) were rare in the Connecticut River Valley. The Gothic taste, which was especially popular in seating furniture made in Philadelphia, was introduced to the Connecticut Valley by Eliphalet Chapin (1741-1807), a cabinetmaker who worked there as a journeyman cabinetmaker before returning home to work with his second cousin Aaron Chapin in East Windsor and Hartford, Conneticut, from 1770 to 1815. Demand for Chapin's urbane, Rococo furniture proved strong throughout the Connecticut Valley, and craftsmen either trained in the Chapins' shop, imitated their work, or copied their products. This set of chairs is nearly identical to another partial set of four chairs in HD's collection (95.44.1-.4), which were made for General Thomas Ives of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in 1785, and inscribed: "1785/made by Mr. Bliss/Springfield Mass."
Label Text:
This chair, designed “in the Gothick taste,” features a pierced back splat with pointed arch. In the mid-eighteenth century, English immigrant cabinetmakers in Philadelphia made elaborately-carved mahogany versions of this popular English rococo design. After 1770, East Windsor, Connecticut cabinetmaker Eliphalet Chapin (1741-1807) offered chairs with a simplified version of the Philadelphia Gothic splat as one of several new styles tailored to the tastes of his Connecticut River Valley clientele. Demand for Chapin's urbane, Rococo furniture proved strong in the region and craftsmen trained in his shop continued to produce his designs and unaffiliated craftsmen copied them.
Original owner: Working as joiners and chairmakers in Springfield, one of three brothers, Festus, Paul, or Pelatiah Bliss, probably made this chair for Thomas Dwight (1758-1819) as part of a larger set. Born in Springfield, Dwight graduated from Harvard College in 1778, studied law and established his practice in Springfield. He held local and state offices and served as a Representative to the 8th United States Congress in 1804 and 1805. The chair descended in the King and Hayward families of Springfield to the donor.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2004.38.2 |
