Chair
Artist
Maker unknown
Date1865-1875
MediumEbonized wood, wool, velvet, glass beads, gilding
DimensionsOverall: 31 1/4 × 19 1/2 × 19in. (79.4 × 49.5 × 48.3cm)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number99.20
On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextReception or occasional chairs were ornamental furnishings used in nineteenth-century parlors. Their elaborate frames and rich upholsteries indicate that they were not intended for everyday use. These chairs did not match the coordinating parlor furniture, but instead served as accents, adding visual interest to the setting and, at times, helping to modernize an outdated interior. Exotic Moorish motifs grace this chair: an ornamental arch and intricate abstracted foliage design on the chair back are combined with an incised and gilded horseshoe in the center and riding whips on either side.
This chair is from the original furnishings of a Dorchester, Massachusetts, mansion built for Herbert Whipple Abbott. The motif on the seat upholstery of the chair is an example of Berlin work, a method of embroidery that followed printed and colored paper patterns and became popular in the United States during the mid-1850s. This example utilizes tufted wool that is shaped for a three- dimensional effect. Glass beads add sparkle and a luxurious touch. The seat cover could have been made by a female family member following a pattern or it could have been purchased.
CM
