Side Chair
Artist unknown
1722–44
Medium
Maple and leather
Dimensions
106.8 × 48.2 × 36.8 cm (42 × 19 × 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
seating
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
121362
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The reindeer hide that conservators used to reupholster this side chair in a period manner was salvaged from the Danish brigantine Frau Metta Catharina. Filled with hemp and leather from St. Petersburg, the ship sank off the coast of England in December 1786, and the cargo remained preserved in the mud of Plymouth Sound for nearly 200 years. Russian leather was readily available in the American colonies in the early 18th century and was favored for its flexible, rot- and insect-resistant surface...