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Sack-back Windsor armchair ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM SEAVER

Offered by: David A. Schorsch - Eileen M. Smiles Fine Americana

Description
ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM SEAVER
Sack-back Windsor armchair
Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1800
The stylized knuckle hand holds, and distinctive turnings identify this armchair as the work of the great Boston Windsor chair maker William Seaver. It is one of a handful of closely related sack-back armchairs of this highly distinctive model known to us. The attribution based on two signed examples: a rocker (formerly owned by us in 1979) illustrated in Charles Santore,
The Windsor Style in America
(Philadelphia, 1981), pp. 146-147, and an armchair (formerly in the collection of Alvan and Claude Bisnoff) illustrated in Charles Santore,
The Windsor Style in America, Vol. II
(Philadelphia, 1987), p. 110, fig. 105. Discussing that armchair Santore noted that “Some of the chairs made by William Seaver are wonderfully quirky. The abrupt bulbs in the spindles, the blocking in the legs before they enter the seat, and the medial stretcher with its ring-and-arrow design give this chair its stylistic personality.” According to Nancy Goyne Evans, William Seaver worked as a Windsor chairmaker in Boston from 1793-1837. He was in partnership with James Frost from 1800-1803.

More Information

Period:	19th Century
Condition:	Good.
Styles / Movements:	Traditional
Incollect Reference #:	768125

Message from Seller:

David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles are nationally recognized dealers in American antiques and folk art, specializing in weathervanes, folk paintings, Shaker furniture, and more. With over forty years of experience, they offer expert services in private and corporate collections, authentication, and auction representation—contact them today at 203.263.3131 or via email at contact@schorsch-smiles.com.