PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1800

Combining accomplished carving with fine inlay, this set of chairs illustrates one of the more elaborate models to survive from Federal-era Philadelphia. The design of the back, with a central reeded column supporting an urn, is a motif seen on other chairs from Philadelphia (see Robert Bishop, Centuries and Styles of the American Chair, 1640-1970 (New York, 1972), pp. 218-219, nos. 304, 306; Pook & Pook, 29 September 2000, lot 293). Furthermore, as determined by mircoanalysis, the seat rails are of ash, a wood commonly found in chairs from this region (see Charles F. Montgomery, American Furniture: The Federal Period (New York, 1966), pp. 138, 145-146, 148-149; Patricia E. Kane, 300 Years of American Seating Furniture (Boston, 1976), pp. 171-172).