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Lot Essay
This remarkable armchair is distinguished both by its rich carved ornament and its scale. The passages of carving on the crest and the front seat rail closely mimic the effect of fine, cast-brass ormulu mounts that typically embellish the French chairs that inspired this design. Without the use of such cast mounts or painted and gilded decoration, the chair relies entirely on mahogany to achieve a rich and sophisticated surface. Details such as the boldly scrolled arms, the carved "mounts", the broad crest tablet, and even the small scrolls that support the ends of the crest rail are seen in a chair illustrated by Pierre de la Mesangere, and the design was probably inspired by a plate in his Collection des Meubles et Objets de Gout published in Paris from 1796 to 1830.
While it is not clear exactly where the chair was made, it is akin to the work of Joseph Barry of Philadelphia and may have been made there by him or one of his contemporaries. The secondary woods (poplar and chestnut) are in keeping with other Philadelphia chairs, but do not rule out other urban centers such as New York and Boston. They do, however, confirm its American origins. While the circumstances of its manufacture are not known, the scale of the chair and the sumptuous carving suggest the possibility that it may have been made for public setting.
While it is not clear exactly where the chair was made, it is akin to the work of Joseph Barry of Philadelphia and may have been made there by him or one of his contemporaries. The secondary woods (poplar and chestnut) are in keeping with other Philadelphia chairs, but do not rule out other urban centers such as New York and Boston. They do, however, confirm its American origins. While the circumstances of its manufacture are not known, the scale of the chair and the sumptuous carving suggest the possibility that it may have been made for public setting.