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Lot Essay
Made of maple with rush seats and turned construction, these armchairs represent one model of the predominant output of the Philadelphia chair-maker and cabinetmaker, William Savery (1721-1787). The quantities of rush-bottomed chairs made by Savery is evident in accounts of his inventory that reveal that at one time he had 83 examples in stock (William MacPherson Hornor, Blue Book Philadelphia Furniture (Washington D.C., 1935), p. 295). His maple chairs followed three distinct designs: slat-backs, baluster splats with yoke crests and vase-shaped splats with serpentine crests as seen here. However, less well-preserved than their more expensive mahogany and walnut counterparts, his rush-seat chairs have a low rate of survival and the pair offered here are rare examples that can be firmly attributed to Savery's shop.
The attribution to Savery is based upon a comparison with two labeled side chairs ( Sotheby's New York, January 16-17, 1999. lot 766). While lacking arms and on a slightly smaller scale, these side chairs display distinctive features that are also seen on these armchairs, such as the incised beading along the outer edges of the stiles, crests and stay rails, low-arched shaping on the seat casings, hewn cabriole legs with chamfered edges and bulbous front stretchers with concave termini. A virtually identical armchair, which differs only by a 1/2 inch less in height, is also attributed to Savery's shop based on similar comparisons (Benno M. Forman, "Delaware Valley 'Crookt Foot' and Slat-Back Chairs: The Fussell-Savery Connection," Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 15 (1980), fig. 15, p. 59).
William Savery trained under Solomon Fussell (ca. 1700-1762), a Philadelphia woodworker who ran a chair-making business from the 1720s until 1750. Benno M. Forman's analysis of Fussell's 1738-1751 ledger reveals an extensive operation that employed the services of numerous outside craftsmen in the production of turned and joined chairs. Many of these chairs were described as "crookt foot," indicating they had hewn cabriole legs similar to those on these armchairs and, with the first mentioned in 1738, Fussell's ledger provides the earliest known reference to cabriole legs in Philadelphia (Forman, p. 41). Evidence of Savery's apprenticeship in Fussell's shop is revealed by the following entry in John Wister's receipt book: "reced: Philada. December 9th 1741 of John Wister three Pounds and Eighteen Shillings in full of all accounts to this Day I Say Reced. For the use of My Master Salomon Fussel & me. [signed] William Savery" (John Wister, Receipt Book, 1739-1746, Joseph Downs Manuscript and Microfilm Collection, Winterthur Library, cited in Forman, p. 46).
Born in 1721, Savery probably set up his own shop soon after he signed Wister's receipt and upon reaching the age of twenty-one. Savery's chairs demonstrate the influence of his master, but also point to Savery's own development and innovation. Like those made by Fussell, Savery's earlier chairs, including those offered here, employed turned construction with seat lists that fit into augers in the legs and stiles and applied seat casings. Such construction required the additional stability provided by stretchers that were unnecessary on joined chairs with mortise-and-tenon joints. At the same time, a comparison between these chairs and an armchair attributed to Fussell illustrates the differences between each craftman's style. Whereas Fussell employed a crest with central arch, a vase-shaped splat with scrolled ears, undercut arms and tripartite stretcher, Savery's chairs display plain serpentine crests, vase-shaped splats with shield-like profiles, serpentine arms and bulbous front stretchers (see Forman, pp. 47, 48, 58 and fig. 10, p. 55).
The attribution to Savery is based upon a comparison with two labeled side chairs ( Sotheby's New York, January 16-17, 1999. lot 766). While lacking arms and on a slightly smaller scale, these side chairs display distinctive features that are also seen on these armchairs, such as the incised beading along the outer edges of the stiles, crests and stay rails, low-arched shaping on the seat casings, hewn cabriole legs with chamfered edges and bulbous front stretchers with concave termini. A virtually identical armchair, which differs only by a 1/2 inch less in height, is also attributed to Savery's shop based on similar comparisons (Benno M. Forman, "Delaware Valley 'Crookt Foot' and Slat-Back Chairs: The Fussell-Savery Connection," Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 15 (1980), fig. 15, p. 59).
William Savery trained under Solomon Fussell (ca. 1700-1762), a Philadelphia woodworker who ran a chair-making business from the 1720s until 1750. Benno M. Forman's analysis of Fussell's 1738-1751 ledger reveals an extensive operation that employed the services of numerous outside craftsmen in the production of turned and joined chairs. Many of these chairs were described as "crookt foot," indicating they had hewn cabriole legs similar to those on these armchairs and, with the first mentioned in 1738, Fussell's ledger provides the earliest known reference to cabriole legs in Philadelphia (Forman, p. 41). Evidence of Savery's apprenticeship in Fussell's shop is revealed by the following entry in John Wister's receipt book: "reced: Philada. December 9th 1741 of John Wister three Pounds and Eighteen Shillings in full of all accounts to this Day I Say Reced. For the use of My Master Salomon Fussel & me. [signed] William Savery" (John Wister, Receipt Book, 1739-1746, Joseph Downs Manuscript and Microfilm Collection, Winterthur Library, cited in Forman, p. 46).
Born in 1721, Savery probably set up his own shop soon after he signed Wister's receipt and upon reaching the age of twenty-one. Savery's chairs demonstrate the influence of his master, but also point to Savery's own development and innovation. Like those made by Fussell, Savery's earlier chairs, including those offered here, employed turned construction with seat lists that fit into augers in the legs and stiles and applied seat casings. Such construction required the additional stability provided by stretchers that were unnecessary on joined chairs with mortise-and-tenon joints. At the same time, a comparison between these chairs and an armchair attributed to Fussell illustrates the differences between each craftman's style. Whereas Fussell employed a crest with central arch, a vase-shaped splat with scrolled ears, undercut arms and tripartite stretcher, Savery's chairs display plain serpentine crests, vase-shaped splats with shield-like profiles, serpentine arms and bulbous front stretchers (see Forman, pp. 47, 48, 58 and fig. 10, p. 55).