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Lot 190¤
Federal String-inlaid Mahogany Shield-back Armchair possibly Jacob Forester (fl. 1786-1838), Charlestown, Massachusetts, c. 1795
2 – 12 August 2025, 12:00 EDT
Online, Skinner Marlborough, MassachusettsSold for US$704 inc. premium
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Elizabeth Muir
Senior Specialist, Head of Sale
Amy Griffin
Cataloguer

Paul O'Hara
Sale Coordinator & Cataloguer
Federal String-inlaid Mahogany Shield-back Armchair
possibly Jacob Forester (fl. 1786-1838), Charlestown, Massachusetts, c. 1795
The broad shield-form back outlined continuously with contrasting blonde string borders, containing five tassel-carved spindles inlaid with three-petal long-stemmed flower motif, all converging on a semi-circular inside the pointed base, inlaid with a patera design with conforming scallops chisel-carved across to the top edge, the string outlines recurring on the bottom of stiles, over the shaped armrests and vertical supports, and on two exterior sides of the tapered front legs, retaining early webbing and horsehair-stuffed muslin stretched over the seat rail, old surface, 53cm wide, 55cm deep, 99cm high (21 1/2in wide, 22in deep, 39 1/2in high). Seat ht. 17 1/2 in.
The broad shield-form back outlined continuously with contrasting blonde string borders, containing five tassel-carved spindles inlaid with three-petal long-stemmed flower motif, all converging on a semi-circular inside the pointed base, inlaid with a patera design with conforming scallops chisel-carved across to the top edge, the string outlines recurring on the bottom of stiles, over the shaped armrests and vertical supports, and on two exterior sides of the tapered front legs, retaining early webbing and horsehair-stuffed muslin stretched over the seat rail, old surface, 53cm wide, 55cm deep, 99cm high (21 1/2in wide, 22in deep, 39 1/2in high). Seat ht. 17 1/2 in.
Footnotes
Literature
A shield-back side chair of nearly identical construction and inlaid decoration bearing the label of Jacob Forester is in the collection of Winterthur Museum, Delaware, acc. no. 60.349. See cat. no. 32 in Charles F. Montgomery, American Furniture: The Federal Period (New York: Viking Press, 1966), p. 87-8.



