Sack-back Windsor armchair

1790-1800

Measurements

36-1/4 in x 25-1/4 in x 20-3/4 in

Materials

White pine* (seat), white oak* (arm), maple* (spindles, arm supports, legs, and stretchers)

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Bayard Sharp and Hugh R. Sharp Jr.

Accession Number

1977.515

Condition Notes

The arm bow is broken at the first spindle to the right of center.

Provenance

Although not confirmed in writing, this Windsor chair likely belonged to H. Rodney Sharp, father of the donors.

Comments

The seven tapered spindles in the back of this sack-back Windsor fan outward slightly, opening the spaces between them further and making the back appear airy and light.  In contrast, the baluster-turned legs look solid and stable.  Instead of carved knuckles, the arms are scalloped along the outside edge, a characteristic of the geographical area in which the chair was made.  Sometimes these outer scallops are laminated to the armbow, but they are solid in this instance.

The chair is covered in a relatively thick coat of dark brown paint applied over a blue-green color.