Side Chair

Maker unknown · Philadelphia · 1840–60

The eclecticism of mid-nineteenth-century taste is evident in the design of this chair, on which Gothic pointed arches are combined with spool-turned stiles and front legs reminiscent of the Jacobean era. The front and side seat rails have applied moldings with arches in the Moorish taste. In the nineteenth century, the style of this chair might have been called either "Gothic" or "Elizabethan." Its history of ownership in New Jersey suggests that it might have been produced there. The multicolored cut-pile upholstery is original and adds an additional layer of visual complexity.

Medium

Walnut (primary); original wool upholstery

Dimensions

45 x 17.8 x 19 in. (114.3 x 45.1 x 48.3 cm)

Accession

2008.161.1

Credit line

Gift of Merritt Woodward Cleaver in memory of his mother, Louise Woodward Cleaver