Description:
Small child's or doll's Windsor side chair, painted black. The legs and back are socketed into the seat. The back consists of a rectangular top rail attached to splayed cylindrical posts with rounded ends that protrude above the rail and three tapered spindles attached to the rail and the seat. The legs, tapered at their upper and lower ends, are joined by single stretchers at the front, sides and rear and are scored at the stretcher joints. The chair descended to the donor from the Howard family of Springfield, Massachusetts, and probably to the Howard family from the Dwight family. The proper left stretcher, proper right rear leg, and proper right stile are birch, and the seat is white pine.
Label Text:
Chairs were the most common form of children’s furniture produced during the 18th and early 19th centuries but were not produced with any frequency until the mid-19th century. Like the nearby slant-lid desk, this chair, which comes with a history of ownership in Springfield, Massachusetts, was designed as a scaled-down version of an adult-sized form. The cabinetmaker who made this example incorporated many details one would expect to find on a regular-sized, 19th-century Windsor chair, including the “bamboo” turnings on the legs and the shaped seat. A chair such as this might not only accommodate a child enjoying games such as dominoes, but also become seating for a toy doll positioned adjacent to a small table to recreate a tea party.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2003.11 |
