Art Institute of Chicago

Side Chair

Attributed to R. J. Horner and Company (American, active 1886–c. 1915)

Date

c. 1890

Medium

Maple and birds-eye maple

Culture

New York

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Imported into the United States as early as the 1860s, East Asian bamboo furniture inspired the manufacture of Western goods such as this faux-bamboo chair and desk (2003.10). Such wares reached the height of their popularity after the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, where Japan’s display of bamboo furniture garnered much public attention. As the demand for Asian-inspired decorative arts and interiors intensified, American companies began using local materials such as this maple to produce faux-bamboo furniture in an attempt to compete with foreign imports. Firms such as R. J. Horner and Company advertised suites such as this one as most appropriate for the dining rooms and bedrooms of country houses.

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