Chair
- Object Name:
- Chair
- Object ID:
- 1977.034.09.2
- Place of Origin:
- Portsmouth, NH (probably)
- Date:
- 1760-1790
- Description:
- Side chair, probably Portsmouth, NH. Plain bow-shaped crest rail having unusually long ears, stiles having rounded backs, and pierced, scrolled central splat housed in molded shoe above back rail. Original hair stuffing, webbing and ticking intact beneath modern yellow damask slipcover. No corner blocks or braces. Square front legs each with bead at outer corner and chamfer on inner corner. Four C-shaped knee brackets, one on each side of front legs. Square outcurving back legs chamfered on all four corners, but in different degrees. Four rectangular stretchers: sides, back and medial. Painted with brown graining. Numerous nails and nailholes in seat rails indicating several reupholsterings. Paint worn in small areas. Fabric undercovering added using cut tacks. Cracks in right side of splat and top of back right leg. Right stretcher broken and repaired at juncture with medial stretcher. Finish removed in area of stretcher repair. Juncture of crest with left stile repaired with filler. Worm damage to left side rail. Ticking on top of seat broken at center and stitched together. Fabric undercovering torn. Some of webbing loose. Small crack at back of right ear of crest. Strip of twill fabric nailed at front right corner of seat. Mahogany and probably maple. One of a pair.
- Material:
- Wood
Textile
Mahogany
Metal - Dimensions:
- H-37 W-22.625 D-20 inches
- Provenance:
- According to an early printed label, "this chair is one of eight the originally belonged to Hon. John Wentworth Jr." See accession file for label that traces history of chair through several owners to its purchase in 1965 by John Wentworth of Chicago, a grandson of the original owner. The original owner, a Harvard graduate (1768), read law in Portsmouth before settling in Dover at the time of his marriage in 1771.
- Credit Line:
- Gift of Charles L. and Jane Kaufmann
Electronic Resources are only available to New Hampshire Historical Society members. To access electronic resources, please join the New Hampshire Historical Society.