Side chair

Status

Not on view

Label Text

Family history maintains Abigail McLean of Wilmington, Delaware purchased a set of eight Gothic-splat side chairs at Mount Vernon in the 1850s, with the understanding they had been owned by George and Martha Washington. Daniel Lammot, also of Wilmington, later purchased four of these eight chairs, three of which have since returned to Mount Vernon. Whether or not the Washingtons originally owned them remains to be proven.

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Date1765-1785

Geography Made - United States

Medium/TechniqueMahogany (primary), white cedar (glue blocks)

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D): 38 in. x 23 3/8 in. x 19 7/8 in. (96.52 cm x 59.37 cm x 50.48 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. George P Bissell, Jr, in memory of George P Bissell, Jr, 2001

Object numberW-4180

DescriptionSide chair with a foliate-carved, undulating or scalloped crest rail and circular, foliate-carved ears, an interlaced Gothic strapwork splat seated within a beaded shoe, a trapezoidal slip-seat frame with rounded top edges and flat-arched side and front rails, and plain cabriole front legs with arissed knees, ogee knee blocks, and claw-and-ball feet. Flat-faced, pierced splat with five ribs of interlaced Gothic tracery above a quatrefoil with a pointed base and two opposing leaf piercings. Crest rail and stiles with a single bead along their outside edge. Raked-back stiles flat on front and rounded at back with double-pegged through tenons and oval legs and feet below the seat rail.

Trapezoidal slip-seat with "IV" inscribed into the bottom of the front rail and "Brown" handwritten in chalk on the bottom of the rear rail. Upholstered in pale blue (now faded to white) silk damask with a central palm-tree pattern.

Published ReferencesStanley V. Henkels, Auction Commission Merchant (Firm), The Most Important Collection of Minatures and Small PIL Portraits Ever Offered for Sale in This County: Belonging to Albert Rosenthal, Miniaturist of Philadelphia, Estate of Late Judge Craig Biddle, Estate of Dr. David Stuart, of Va.: Relics of General Washington from the the Estate of Dr. David Stuart, of Virginia, Including C. W. Peale's Ivory Miniature of Washington, Painted Under Order of Mrs. Washington. His Field Glass Used in Surveying. His Pocket Shaving Set, and Two Chippendale Chairs from Mount Vernon; Also Elegant Turkish Carpets and Rugs from the Estate of the Late Dr. William F. Norris, of Phila. to be Sold Tuesday Afternoon, December 14TH, 1920 AT 2:30 O'Clock, P.M. Sales Catalogue No. 1269 (Philadelphia: Stan. V. Henkels, 1920), Lot# 134.

MarkingsInscribed into the top of the front seat rail: "IIII".

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