Description:
Chippendale side chair in cherry with a upholstered slip seat and pine corner blacks attributed to Eliphalet Chapin (1741-1807). A hand-written in ink label, originally pasted to the textile on the chair base (now in object file), states: "This chair was lent by Dr. Howard Bulkeley Haylett for "The Connecticut Tercentenary Exhibition" year 1935 + is pictured in the catalogue as #160. This chair is also pictured in Antiques Magazine for April 1939 - pg. 172 - in an article on Eliphelet Chapin by Emily M. Davis." Chairs with this distinctive gothic crossed back are attributed to the cabinetshop of Eliphalet Chapin and his cousin and partner, Aaron Chapin. Eliphalet Chapin trained in Connecticut and worked as a jouneyman for four years in Philadelphia from approximately 1766-1770. There, Chapin learned design and construction features which he brought back to Connecticut. These elements include the use of thru-tenons and two-piece vertical corner blocks on chairs with slip seats such as this one. The chair has a carved serpentine crest rail with a center shell; over a pierced Gothic splat with a quatrefoil, diamond, and carved "X" motif; over a trapezoidal slip seat and molded rails; and front cabriole legs ending in ball-and-claw feet and plain, shaped back legs.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+64.117 |
