Bow-back Windsor armchair

Status

On view

Date1785-1805

Geography Possibly made - United States

Medium/TechniqueTulip poplar (seat), ash (arms, arm supports), oak (bow, spindles), maple (legs, stretchers) paint

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 34 1/2 in. x 18 1/2 in. x 16 1/2 in. (87.63 cm x 46.99 cm x 41.91 cm)

Credit LineGift of Elizabeth Jones Browning, 1963

Object numberM-2433

DescriptionBow-back Windsor armchair with seven, three-part, bamboo-turned spindles, downward-curved arms, a D-shaped, saddled seat, and four splayed, three-part, bamboo-turned legs joined by H-mounted stretchers. The continuous bow back has a deep groove running down the outside of the front above the arms, is rounded below them, and is rounded at back and nips in slightly at the waist; its ends are tenoned through the seat. The spindles are tenoned through the seat and the bow; all of the spindles extend through the bow and are wedged. The downward-curved arms have a deep groove extending midway down the length of their upper surface, with circular, flat-sided disk terminals, and are supported by two plain, tapered spindles and a splayed, two-part, single-swell, bamboo-turned, arm post; each arm is joined to the bow with a rectangular through-tenon; the ends of the arm post are tenoned through the seat. 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 and medial stretchers. Traces of a previous black or dark-green finish are visible in the grooves of the legs and stretchers.

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