Name/Title
Six Dining Chairs Descended in the Vanderhorst FamilyEntry/Object ID
L.93.2.1-6Description
Chairs, set of six
Charleston
1800/1810
Mahogany with yellow pine and ash
Descended in the Vanderhorst Family
Six of a set of twelve; 5 sides and 1 arm
having molded square back with center tablet having 13 arches, back divided into five arched Gothic panels by four round reeded columns terminating at top with fan-shaped capitol and at base with rectangular plinth; shaped and bowed seat upholstered over-the-rail and finished with brass tacks, on square and tapered legs and spade foot; underside has 4 corner braces
Design Source Is Apparently the New York Book of Prices For Cabinet and Chair Work For 1802.
Chairs had blue upholstery when they were received in 1993.
Tradition has it that they were lent to St. Michael's by the Vanderhorst family for the occasion of Washington's visit to Charleston in 1790 or 91. Dates at odds.
Six other chairs in the set owned by MESDA.
Four displayed in Dining Room, other two stored in NR 301.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation CollectionMade/Created
Date made
1800 - 1810Time Period
NeoclassicalPlace
City
CharlestonState/Province
South CarolinaCountry
United States of AmericaLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
ChairNomenclature Sub-Class
Seating FurnitureNomenclature Class
FurnitureNomenclature Category
Category 02: FurnishingsOther Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
Other NumberOther Number
1204Dimensions
Height
35-1/2 inWidth
21 inDepth
17-1/2 inDimension Notes
Above dimensions are for side Chair.Location
Location
Room
103Building
Nathaniel Russell HouseCategory
PermanentDate
March 31, 2023Location
Room
103Building
Nathaniel Russell HouseDate
December 17, 2002Moved By
Jill Beute KovermanDate
February 21, 2002Notes
Until: / /Condition
Overall Condition
GoodNotes
Good, have been restored; 2 corner braces have been replacedRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Vanderhorst, ArnoldusProvenance
Notes
From (book):
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. "The regional arts of the early South: a sampling from the collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts"/John Bivins and Forsyth Alexader. Copyright 1991 by Old Salem.
Similar piece p. 106:
Made of mahogany, with yellow pine corner braces and an ash seat, this Neoclassical armchair is one of a set of twelve or more dining chairs, six of which are in the MESDA collection. A similar chair is described in 'The New York Book of Prices for Cabinet and Chair Work" for 1802: Square Back Chair. No.III With four gothic arches, and four turned columns, sweep stay, and top rail, with a brake in ditto; plain taper'd legs." Several New York examples in various collections have been attributed to the shop of partners Abraham Slover and Jacob Taylor, who worked in New York City from 1802 to 1805. This armchair resembles these New York products, but it lacks their four corner rosettes and its upper panerl is carved wiht thirteen flutes rather than the sunbursts and swags popular in the North. These chairs are also shorter than their New York counterparts.Intake
Loan In
L.1993.002.Lender
The Rev. Richard I.H. Belser, RectorDate Received
Aug 10, 1992Date Due for Return
Jan 21, 2013General Notes
Note
Notes: Conservation photographs, taken by David Beckford September 2002, in file.
Re-upholstered by Barry Barlow of Delaware with black horsehair and gilded brass tacks.
Status: OK
Location Details1: 1Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
July 24, 1998Updated By
sferguson@historiccharleston.orgUpdate Date
May 1, 2023