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Lot Essay
En suite with previous lot.
The design of the splats on these two chairs is taken from Thomas Sheraton, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (London, 1793), pl. 36, no. 1 (fig. 1). Most of the surviving examples of "Square-back" chairs with "drapery banister, feather top, banister and splats pierc'd; plain taper'd legs" feature carved decoration, such as that illustrated in Edwin J. Hipkiss, Eighteenth-Century American Arts: The M. and M. Karolik Collection (Boston, 1941), pp. 170-171, cat. no. 107. Examples such as this were among the most popular chair designs among wealthy New Yorkers in the Federal period although those with inlaid rather than carved decoration are significantly rarer.
Removal of the upholstery of these chairs revealed two important clues for understanding their original appearance. The tops of the front legs are peaked and the double-row pattern of the original tacks became apparent. Peaking allows for a crisp corner when covered with upholstery materials and the show cloth and provides additional support for the pins joining the rails to the legs, while the double-row of tacks created a stylish appearance. The combination of these elements demonstrates a successful integration of style and durability.
A related armchair lacking the star inlay featured on these chairs is illustrated in Charles F. Montgomery, American Furniture, The Federal Period (New York, 1966), p. 111, fig. 59; the arm supports of the Winterthur example are fastened to an extension of the front legs instead of being screwed to the seat frame as was the usual New York City practice, which is seen in the chair in lot 576.
Related examples of inlaid side chairs can be found in David Warren, et al., American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection (Houston, 1998), p. 97, cat. no. F154; Christopher P. Monkhouse and Thomas S. Michie, American Furniture in Pendleton House (Providence, 1986), pp. 179-180, cat. no. 122; J. Michael Flanigan, American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection (New York, 1986), pp. 122-123, cat. no. 42; Hipkiss, cat. no. 108 and one illustrated in The Magazine Antiques (January 1957 and May 1977), pp. 15 and 996 respectively.
The design of the splats on these two chairs is taken from Thomas Sheraton, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (London, 1793), pl. 36, no. 1 (fig. 1). Most of the surviving examples of "Square-back" chairs with "drapery banister, feather top, banister and splats pierc'd; plain taper'd legs" feature carved decoration, such as that illustrated in Edwin J. Hipkiss, Eighteenth-Century American Arts: The M. and M. Karolik Collection (Boston, 1941), pp. 170-171, cat. no. 107. Examples such as this were among the most popular chair designs among wealthy New Yorkers in the Federal period although those with inlaid rather than carved decoration are significantly rarer.
Removal of the upholstery of these chairs revealed two important clues for understanding their original appearance. The tops of the front legs are peaked and the double-row pattern of the original tacks became apparent. Peaking allows for a crisp corner when covered with upholstery materials and the show cloth and provides additional support for the pins joining the rails to the legs, while the double-row of tacks created a stylish appearance. The combination of these elements demonstrates a successful integration of style and durability.
A related armchair lacking the star inlay featured on these chairs is illustrated in Charles F. Montgomery, American Furniture, The Federal Period (New York, 1966), p. 111, fig. 59; the arm supports of the Winterthur example are fastened to an extension of the front legs instead of being screwed to the seat frame as was the usual New York City practice, which is seen in the chair in lot 576.
Related examples of inlaid side chairs can be found in David Warren, et al., American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection (Houston, 1998), p. 97, cat. no. F154; Christopher P. Monkhouse and Thomas S. Michie, American Furniture in Pendleton House (Providence, 1986), pp. 179-180, cat. no. 122; J. Michael Flanigan, American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection (New York, 1986), pp. 122-123, cat. no. 42; Hipkiss, cat. no. 108 and one illustrated in The Magazine Antiques (January 1957 and May 1977), pp. 15 and 996 respectively.