Upholstered Side Chair
The Cromwellian chair form was fashionable in the late 17th century. This example required the skills of three craftsmen - the turner with a lathe, the joiner who mortised and tenoned the rails and stiles, and the upholsterer who stuffed the seat and the upper back with marsh grass and covered it with leather. The upper portion of the chair is missing its leather upholstery. The preferred leather was "russia" leather tanned near St. Petersburg and exported to the colonies by London merchants. This chair was probably made in New York City and was owned by John Amsden (1686-1742) who lived in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Side chairs of this rectilinear design were made in quantities in Boston and New York during the last quarter of the 17th century.
Date: circa 1660 - 1680
Topic: Household
Materials: Oak, leather, marsh grass
Dimensions: H: 37 in.(93.9 cm.), W: 18 in.(45.7 cm.)
Accession #: 1880.047.01