Chair

Currently not on view

Chair

1685-1710

Artist/maker unknown, American

Perhaps one of the earliest surviving Pennsylvania chairs, this example includes spiral "French" or "Dutch" turnings in its back, leg, and base stretcher components. Chairs of this type were popular in England during the reign of King Charles II (ruled 1660-85) and similar versions have also been documented in northern France and Holland. It may have been part of a larger suite of matching forms, and is thought to have originally belonged to Robert Pearson, an Englishman who immigrated in 1680 and settled near Nottingham, New Jersey, with his wife Catherine and son Robert.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Chair

Date:

1685-1710

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, American

Medium:

Walnut and cushion (replacement seat board)

Dimensions:

39 × 18 7/8 × 19 1/2 inches (99.1 × 47.9 × 49.5 cm)

Classification:

Furniture/Furnishings

Credit Line:

Purchased with Museum and Subscription Funds from the Charles F. Williams Collection, 1923

Accession Number:

1923-23-53

Geography:

Made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America or made in Crosswicks, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America

Context:

Period: Colonial

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Currently not on view