MARYLAND OR VIRGINIA, 1790-1810

Combining elegant bellflower inlay and distinctive acanthus carving, this pair of chairs is a fine example of a form that was popular in the Federal era. Chairs with shield-shaped backs were described in both the 1795 Philadelphia book of prices and the 1796 New York book of prices, and there is evidence they were made in New England as well (Charles Montgomery, American Furniture, The Federal Period (New York, 1966), p. 151). The double-beaded edges seen here is a feature typically associated with Baltimore, and the bellflower inlay is similar to a chair in the collection of the Maryland Historical Society (accession no. 20.39.1), illustrated in Gregory R. Weidman, Furniture in Maryland 1740-1940 (Baltimore, 1984), pp. 105-106, cat. no. 49.

Stylistically, these chairs also relate closely to a set of six chairs attributed to Maryland or Virginia, with a history of ownership by George Washington. Currently in the collection of the Department of State in Washington, D.C., a pair from the set is illustrated in Clement E. Conger and Alexandra W. Rollins, Treasures of State, Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State (New York, 1991), cat. no. 108 (see fig. 1). Differing only in the shape of the inlaid bellflowers and the presence of acanthus carving above the inlay, these chairs share the same stylized acanthus carving on the splats and identical radiating fan at the base.