Chair, weaver's

Furniture

Historic Hudson Valley

Name/Title

Chair, weaver's

Entry/Object ID

VC.2016.2

Description

Four-legged stool with high, canted, single-plank back; back rounded at top edge, widening to square bottom, nailed to rear rung; thick round seat, with rough-cut hole at center; loosely-woven leather strap seat, each strap secured with two nails at each end; seat cut flat at back to accomodate back plank; rough-cut peg legs taped at top; rough-cut rails; back screwed to seat and rail; painted on bottom: "1-7231."

Context

What is this unusual chair? The appearance of this piece of furniture gives some clues about its use. The person who made it intended it to be useful, but not high-style, given the plain boards, simple turned legs, and lack of ornamentation. The seat is higher than most chairs. The lack of arms indicates it is a chair for action, not leisure. The so-called “tombstone back” gives the user support and adds strength to the design with the single panel extending past the round seat to the back rail. Woven leather forms the seat. A weaver likely used this simple chair. The height and shape of the chair placed the weaver close to his or her work at the loom and provided back support, while the leather allowed for a more flexible—and comfortable!—seat for extended periods of work.

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Unknown

Attribution

Maker

Date made

1790 - 1899

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Transcription

(See Description)

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Height

45 in

Width

13-3/4 in

Depth

14 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 45 x 13 3/4 x 14 in. (114.3 x 34.9 x 35.6 cm)

Material

Wood (unknown), Leather

Condition

Notes

Remarks: Generally quite dirty; very worn leather seat, some breaks and losses; scratches and patina overall; cracks in back; large old chip in upper back PL; splashes of whitewash-like paint overall; series of double rows of nail holes around outer edge of back.

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Unknown

General Notes

Note Type

Curatorial Remarks

Note

Accessioned 2016, acquired earlier. Object has been in curatorial storage at VCM for many years with a note in former curator Kate Eagen Johnson's handwriting: "No #/Weaver's chair/Can't find in comp inventory/ 6/19/01." Based upon this object's potential use for display, it has been accessioned. [Jessa Krick, Collections Manager, 4/12/2016]. Object was displayed for Sheep-to-Shawl at Philipsburg Manor, April 2016. Despite the identification of this object as a weaver's chair, to date no documentary image has been found to show a weaver using this type of chair. Most weavers use a bench, often part of the loom, which allows him/her to operate the treadles easily. More research is needed. The back of the chair is sometimes called a "tombstone back" in 2016 online descriptions, but there is no indication that this is a period term [Jessa Krick, 4/18/2016].

Note Type

StorageNote

Note

Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Philipsburg Manor, Attic, E Chimney

Note Type

Department

Note

Curatorial