Side Chair
This turned chair of ash and maple shows wear from generations of use. It descended in the Nims family from Deerfield, Massachusetts, and was given in 1880 to the Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield. Its red paint is worn, the legs have been shortened, and it has lost its decorative urn and ball turnings on the back posts. The attenuated spindles in the back and the turned crest rail help distinguish this early chair. Seats on rush-seated chairs often had to be replaced several times during the life of the chair. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Native Americans were among the marginalized groups in New England who seated chairs to eke out livings. This seat has an unusual combination of woodsplint repairs on a rush seat.
Date: 1680 - 1720
Topic: Household
Materials: Ash, maple, rush, splint
Dimensions: H: 33 in.(83.8 cm.), W: 19.37 in.(49 cm.)
Accession #: 1880.036.04