Name/Title
ChairEntry/Object ID
96.3.117Tags
Needs new photographyDescription
The wooden chairs are part of a set that the Historic Charleston Foundation received from The Charleston Museum. Both chairs have a tulip-shaped back with an oval handgrip, a straight apron, upturned front legs, and saber-back legs.
The legs of the chairs indicate they were made between c. 1790 and 1820 and are of a style that signals the transition from the 18thc to the 19thc, and are common in the servants’ halls and back stairs of English country houses. Hall chairs were often decorated with arms or the family crest. Sheraton’s Cabinet Dictionary (1803) describes the function of this style of chair as, “…the use of servants or strangers waiting for business.” Additionally, The National Trust Book of English Furniture (1986) states, “They were set in the great hall of a country house, had wooden seats and were not intended to be comfortable resting places for long periods.”
Based on the flat wooden seats of the chairs and their vernacular style, these were intended for use on the back stairs in the formal household of the Aiken-Rhett House. It would have been expected that furniture in the areas used by the enslaved in the house would be of a particular form.
Condition and Research: In 2001, Susan Buck conducted cross-section analysis on 96.3.116. Her analysis indicates that the chairs were originally grain-painted. In email correspondence with HCF in 2001, Buck describes the paint layers as “so degraded it is difficult to determine the type of wood, but I would guess it was originally oak-grained.” Buck then identifies the base coat color match to Benjamin Moore 32516-60 “soft beige.” But it was unable to match the glazed coat.
In April-May 2026, the chairs were sent by House Manager Kyle Kesterson to Richard Marks for conservation, with a focus on stabilizing the chairs’ legs and backs. Additionally, before being sent for repairs, Kesterson identified a leafy or floral pattern on the back of one chair (96.3.117). Revealing that there was once a clear pattern or motif, possibly a crest.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation CollectionAcquisition
Accession
96.3.Source or Donor
The Charleston MuseumAcquisition Method
TransferLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
ChairNomenclature Sub-Class
Seating FurnitureNomenclature Class
FurnitureNomenclature Category
Category 02: FurnishingsDimensions
Height
17-1/4 inWidth
18-1/4 inDepth
15-7/8 inLocation
Date
May 18, 2026Category
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Condition
Overall Condition
PoorNotes
Back missing, left back leg missing, seat split in half and brokenConservation
Conservation Purpose
Damage RepairTreatment
Acute Treatment
General RepairDate(s)
Apr 2026 - May 2026Conservator
Richard Marks RestorationsApproved By
Kyle KestersonCreate Date
May 19, 2003Update Date
May 28, 2026
