5-slat armchair

1760-1800

Measurements

44 in x 23-3/4 in x 20-5/8 in

Materials

maple (posts, arms, front stretcher), ash (slats, rungs), rush seat

Credit Line

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

Accession Number

1977.532

Condition Notes

The bottom 2 inches of the rear legs are replaced, but the front feet appear to be original.

Provenance

Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp, donated by his sons.

Comments

The slender, well-articulated armchair--a classic statement of Philadelphia-area turned chairs--has five arched and undercut slats of graduated sizes.  The slightly tapered rear posts terminate in ball finials.  The front posts have double baluster arm supports, and baluster turning below the seat, and ball feet.  The turned front stretcher has a center ring flanked by balls and ends in slightly tapered cones.  The arm are undercut in the front and rear.  The black paint exhibits no evidence of anything earlier.  The rush strands of the seat are woven in groups of three, which is an early, more efficient technique for making such a seat.