Art Institute of Chicago

Armchair

Artist unknown (American, 17th–18th century)

Date

1670–1700

Medium

Maple and ash

Culture

New York

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This chair is one among a small group of turned chairs with slat backs that were produced in the New York area at the end of the 17th century. The chair was made by an artisan known as a turner, whose main tools were a lathe and a set of gouges. A block of wood was set into the lathe, which was operated manually by an apprentice using a hand crank or a foot pump. Gouges, or tolls, with sharp edges in varying widths were used to form the design on the wood being turned.

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