Side Chair
Unknown Artist
1805–15
Medium
Mahogany
Dimensions
32 3/4 x 19 1/2 x 17 1/2 in. (83.2 x 49.5 x 44.5 cm)
Classification
Side Chair
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Maria P. James, 1910
Accession Number
11.60.153
Art Historical Context
This elegant side chair, crafted around 1805–15 from rich mahogany, exemplifies the refined furniture of early 19th-century. Measuring 32¾ x 19½ x 17½ inches, it was designed for comfort in parlors or dining rooms, such pieces formed the backbone of domestic life. Mahogany, imported from the Caribbean and West Indies, was a prized wood symbolizing status and prosperity, often hand-carved by skilled artisans in New England or New York workshops during the Federal period. Though the maker remains unknown, the chair reflects the neoclassical influences sweeping post-Revolutionary America, inspir...