Side Chair
Unknown Artist
1770–90
Medium
Mahogany
Dimensions
38 1/2 x 22 1/4 x 22 in. (97.8 x 56.5 x 55.9 cm)
Classification
Side Chair
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Robert Newlin Verplanck, 1940
Accession Number
40.137.1
Art Historical Context
This elegant side chair, crafted in mahogany between 1770 and 1790, exemplifies the refined furniture of late colonial and early Federal America. Standing at 38½ inches tall, with a seat width of 22¼ inches, it was designed for comfort and formality in dining rooms or parlors of prosperous households. Mahogany, imported from the and Honduras, was a luxurious choice—its rich reddish-brown grain and durability made it a hallmark of high-status American craftsmanship, often hand-carved and joined with precise dovetail techniques by skilled cabinetmakers. In the context of post-Revolutionary Amer...