Lot 91
91
A SLAT-BACK HIGH CHAIR

Details
A SLAT-BACK HIGH CHAIR
DELAWARE VALLEY, LATE 18TH/EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Centering four shaped and graduated slats flanked by cylindrical stiles with onion finials above turned bulbous arms over baluster-turned supports above a trapezoidal rush seat on four cylindrical legs joined by double-box stretchers on three sides, with single stretchers at rear and front seat rails over an applied foot rest, on flattened ball feet--37 ¼in. high
Provenance
Acquired July 15, 1975

Lot Essay

Of the three documented types of Delaware Valley slatback chairs, the highchair and sidechair illustrated in this and the next lot represent examples of type 1. With their arched slats, these chairs employ a slightly aberrant decorative feature as compared to other forms of this category. While a direct European design source for these chairs is not known, the popularity of the form to the Delaware Valley and nearby region is well established. For a different example of this chair form, see lot 125. For further information, see John Bacon, "Delaware Valley Slatback Chairs: A Formal and Analytical Survey," Newark, Delware: Master's Thesis, University of Delware, Winterthur Program in Early American Culture, 1991.