Description: One of a pair of slat-back side chairs supported by turned posts surmounted with the spool finial characteristic of Deerfield area craftsmanship, and fit with the original, woven split ash seat. The chairs are products of the Deerfield turning tradition related to the Spencer-King workshops. Obadiah Spencer, Jr. (1666-1741) of Hartford, Connecticut, was the grandson of Thomas Spencer (1607-1687), Hartford's leading turner during the seventeenth century, and Nicholas Disbrowe (1612-1683), the principal leading joiner. Zadock King (1725-1769) of Hartford and Deerfield, Obadiah Spencer's grand nephew, probably learned his trade from his older brother, Parmenas King (1713-1800), who trained under Obediah and was an important joiner who worked in various Valley towns including Deerfield on the Elijah Williams house. Amelia Miller has documented Parmesas as a probable maker of elaborate Georgian doorways in the Connecticut Valley. Zadock King worked in the Deerfield area and died in Deerfield in 1769; his estate listed both joiner's and turner's tools. The chair has four curved back slats, and plainly turned box stretchers.
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