The side and front rails of the chair are flush to the outside of the legs. An filleted ovolo molding softens the corners and intersects nicely. The slip seat is upholstered traditionally using horsehair, muslin, and natural cotton batting. The seating surface is leather.
Hours of handwork goes into a chair. The splat (central piece) and crest rail are often the highlight. Here the crest rail has compound curves, rolling back slightly in it’s center, and heavily on the ears, where a traditional double thumb print is carved. The splat’s piercings are beveled to 10 degrees to define it’s outline and shape.
This chair was commissioned as a set of twenty four. The project was a joint effort between my father in-law, Josh Metcalf, and I. The original design for the chairs came from the Bennington Museum in Bennington, VT. We took aspects from two 18th century chairs, both made in Vermont, and joined what we and the client liked from each.
The chairs are made of Black Cherry. They are finished with boiled linseed oil, multiple coats of waterlox varnish and paste wax.
Dimensions: 20" W x 39 1/2" T x 19 3/4 " D
Price: $2,370 before upholstery
Contact Pete E. Michelinie Fine Furniture about this piece...