Windsor settee
Probably Delaware Valley
1820-1835
Measurements
33 in x 77-3/4 in x 24-1/2 in
Materials
Tulip poplar* (seat and legs), beech* (stretcher, spindles, and arm support), maple* (arm), black cherry* (crest rail). See "Comments" about wood identifications.
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Sewell C. Biggs
Accession Number
1976.307
Condition Notes
The settee has been stripped of all paint except for green coats on the underside of the seat. An iron brace reinforces the join of the crest rail to the right rear post.
Provenance
Ex coll. Sewell C. Biggs
Comments
The long Windsor settee, a relatively rare form, stands on eight legs with faint bamboo turnings, all joined by flat stretchers in front and rounded rungs in back and from front to back. The rectangular board seat supports a back that bends back slightly. Twenty-three arrow-shaped spindles socket into the underside of the crest rail; three smaller arrow spindles are under each carved arm.
The donor of this settee tended to collect furniture made in Delaware, but no early history accompanies the settee. The woods, identified by microanalysis, are confusing in some instances, notably the front legs, which by eye appear to be beech or possibly maple, rather than tulip poplar (very rarely used for turning). The present finish obscures wood grain and details. The settee was likely stripped of its paint, except for that on the underside of the seat, which remains green. Traces of buff and dark-colored paint noted in early accession records are not readily apparent.