Settee or Daybed slipseat

Date1775-1800

MediumBeech, linen, iron tacks, hair stuffing, and worsted wool and wool tufts

DimensionsOH: 2 1/2"; OW: 53 1/2"; OD: 20 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1976-344

DescriptionLong rectangular slipseat for a settee with original upholstery. Upholstered in orange ribbed worsted with double row of dark blue wool tufts down center.Label TextThis slip seat, from a couch or perhaps a long bench, has survived in remarkably good condition. Its tufted surface, called "quilted" in the eighteenth-century, kept the horsehair stuffing from shifting inside the case. A tuft of wool, which is visible on the surface, held each quilting stitch in place. Relatively few examples of this once-common technique survive.
Although strange to modern eyes, the combination of orange and blue may not have been unusual in the eighteenth century. In the 1774 The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, Thomas Chippendale recommended the combination of green and purple as suitable and elegant for upholstery fabrics.