Lot Essay
Based on a variation of the splat design illustrated in Thomas Chippendale's 1763 edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director plate XIV, these chairs exhibit the Boston interpertations of the Rococo style at its peak.
A related side chair with block-and-baluster joined legs and similar acanthus leaf carved legs is recorded in the Winterthur Library: Decorative Arts Photographic Collection (65.1830). Another side chair, probably from the same shop as the pair here is also recorded in the Winterthur Library: Decorative Arts Photographic Collection (70.229). A third example, an armchair, with similar splat, is illustrated in Downs American Furniture: Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (New York, 1952) fig. 46.
A related side chair with block-and-baluster joined legs and similar acanthus leaf carved legs is recorded in the Winterthur Library: Decorative Arts Photographic Collection (65.1830). Another side chair, probably from the same shop as the pair here is also recorded in the Winterthur Library: Decorative Arts Photographic Collection (70.229). A third example, an armchair, with similar splat, is illustrated in Downs American Furniture: Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (New York, 1952) fig. 46.