image of object
Photo: Courtesy The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Virginia, 1977-215
Click the image to enlarge

Easy chair

Object number

RIF1166

Maker

Maker Unknown

Dimensions

45 3/4 × 29 1/4 × 28 in. (116.21 × 74.3 × 71.12 cm)

Date

1785–95

Current location

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Virginia

Geography

Possibly made in Rhode Island
(view a map of Rhode Island)

Medium

Birch (primary); maple, white pine (secondary)

Marks

None

Inscriptions

None

Provenance

Descended in the family of Rufus Greene (1806–1871), Apponaug, Rhode Island; by descent to his grandaughter Eleanor G. Sargent (1889–1900); given by Eleanor G. Sargent and Earl W. Sargent (born 1899), Greenville, South Carolina, to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Virginia, 1977

Associated names

Eleanor G. Sargent
Rufus Greene
Earl W. Sargent

Construction

The chair retains its linen foundation upholstery. There is no evidence of a show cloth having been attached to its frame. A hole for a chamber pot is concealed under a slip seat with a wooden frame. There are boards on the back, wing, and arm panels. The side seat rails are joined to the stiles with through tenons.

Notes

The birch retains its original reddish stain.

Bibliography

Linda Baumgarten, "Protective Covers for Furniture and Its Contents," American Furniture (1993): 7, fig. 8.