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 23 1/4 in. x 18 5/16 in. (95.25 cm x 59.06 cm x 46.51 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, 1996

Object numberM-3922/B

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 wedged. 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 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 and yellow) is visible on all parts of the chair where the present finish is chipped or cracked.

The roughhewn, ungrooved proper right side stretcher is a replacement.

MarkingsStamped on the underside of the seat near the front center: "G [very faintly -& R G]AW".

Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.