Images(2)

Armchair

DateCa. 1795

OriginAmerica, New York, New York City

MediumMahogany, ash, white pine (probably), tulip poplar

DimensionsOH: 36 1/2"; OW: 23 1/4"; OD: 19 3/4"; SD: 17 3/4"

Credit LineBequest of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Hennage

Object number1990-284,1

DescriptionSquare back armchair with flat crest with raised central portion over two outer tapering square columnar banisters and a central carved splat with Prince of Wales feathers carved at top over a stylized pierced vase with drapery swags all supported by stay rail; crest rail, stiles, stay rail, and arm supports molded; shaped out curving arms terminating in carved rosettes over modified C shaped arm supports; upholstered seat with swelled front and side rails; tapered legs, square in cross section, front legs fluted with spade feet.Label TextThis chair came from the house built by Richard Riker in 1811 as the family’s then rural Manhattan summer home. Chairs of the exact same design were owned by the nearby Davenport family.

British design books greatly influenced American furniture in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The pattern for this chair came from Thomas Sheraton’s The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Drawing Book, published in 1794.
ProvenanceDescended in the Riker family of New York City (Originally in the Riker House, 75th Street and the East River).
Donors purchcased from Ginsburg & Levy, Inc. in 1965