Armchair
Artist unknown
1670–1700
Medium
Maple and ash
Dimensions
101.6 × 57.2 × 48.3 cm (40 × 22 1/2 × 19 in.)
Classification
seating
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
55936
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This chair is one among a small group of turned chairs with slat backs that were produced in the New York area at the end of the 17th century. The chair was made by an artisan known as a turner, whose main tools were a lathe and a set of gouges. A block of wood was set into the lathe, which was operated manually by an apprentice using a hand crank or a foot pump. Gouges, or tolls, with sharp edges in varying widths were used to form the design on the wood being turned.