Square-back Windsor armchair

1804-1815

Maker

Jared Chesnut (working 1800-1837)

Measurements

34-1/4 in x 21-1/2 in x 21 in

Materials

Tulip poplar (seat), maple (legs), walnut (arms), other unidentified hardwoods

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation

Accession Number

1979.112

Inscription

“J . CHESNUT / WILMINGTON / DEL.” is stamped into the center of the underside of the seat.

Condition Notes

The painted surfaces have begun to deteriorate, producing an "alligatored" surface.

Provenance

Purchased from David Stockwell (dealer); ex coll. Mrs. Isaac Parrish, Viewtown, Virginia

Comments

Jared Chesnut moved from Christiana, Delaware, to Wilmington in 1804, which is the earliest time this stamped chair could have been made.  Chesnut seems to have specialized in Windsors with double rods containing a central medallion, as on this chair.  Almost all of the elements are bamboo-turned.  Chesnut’s turnings appear thicker than most; note the rounded shoulders at the tops of the legs and arm supports.  See another armchair at Historic Odessa bearing his stamped name and place of work (acc. no. 1980.7).  The stretchers form a box, rather than an “H” configuration with a medial stretcher.  This chair has a coat of olive green paint over a coral red.