Bow-back Windsor armchair

Status

Not on view

Date1793-1798

Maker Gilbert and Robert Gaw (American, 1793 - 1798)

Geography Made - United States

Medium/TechniqueTulip poplar (seat), mahogany (arms), paint

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 37 1/2 in. x 21 1/2 in. x 17 1/2 in. (95.25 cm x 54.61 cm x 44.45 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, 1996

Object numberM-3922/A

DescriptionDark-green painted bow-back Windsor armchair with nine, three-part, bamboo-turned spindles, serpentine arms, a shield-shaped, saddled seat, and four splayed, three-part, bamboo-turned legs joined by H-mounted stretchers. The continuous bow back is crowned and beaded on the front above the arms and rounded below the arms and at back; its ends are tenoned through the seat and wedged. The spindles are tenoned through the seat and the bow; four of the spindles, two on each side of the center three, extend through the bow and are wedged. The serpentine arms with downward-scrolled terminals are supported by a two-part, bamboo-turned spindle and a splayed, two-part, triple-swell, bamboo-turned arm post; each arm is joined to the bow with a rectangular through-tenon and is pegged at the join with the arm post; the ends of the arm post are tenoned through the seat and have a nail driven into them. The plank seat has a slight pommel at front center and a deep groove outlines the front and back of the spindle area. Each leg is tenoned into the seat and double-wedged. The bamboo-turned stretcher support has two-part, single-swell side stretchers and a three-part, double-swell medial stretcher. Evidence of a succession of finishes (green, white, and yellow) are visible on all parts of the chair where the present finish is chipped or cracked.

MarkingsStamped on the underside of the seat near the front center: "G & R GAW".

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