New Jersey Dutch Tradition
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A highly developed Bergen County, New Jersey armchair retaining a remarkably successful early nineteenth-century decorative painted surface. The chair is constructed in the distinctive New Jersey Dutch tradition, with tall turned rear posts ornamented by characteristic sausage turnings surmounted with finely turned urn finials.
The back is fitted with four shaped horizontal splats, each individually decorated with stylized fruit and free-flowing foliate devices. Particularly expressive are the boldly shaped arms, their serpentine profiles descending into broad, dramatically scrolled handholds supported by turned arm posts. The vigorous turning continues below the seat, where the front legs and stretchers provide considerable visual rhythm; particularly noteworthy are the full sequence of sausage turnings extending across the front stretchers to the legs which remain at full height.
The early nineteenth-century decoration transforms the earlier chair into an especially engaging expression of the American Fancy period. Against the dark brown ground, yellow, ochre, green, and red-painted foliage and fruit enliven the splats, posts, legs, stretchers, and arms, while fine linear accents emphasize the chair’s architectural profile. The woven rush seat complements the warm, richly patinated painted surface.
An unusually ambitious Bergen County armchair combining the powerful regional character of an eighteenth-century New Jersey Dutch form with the exuberance of early nineteenth-century Fancy decoration.
Item Date: Late 18th Century, Circa 1780, Early 19th Century “Fancy” Paint Decoration
Measurement: Height: 46"; seat height: 16.5"; width: 24"; depth: 21.5"
Material: Maple and ash
Item Condition: Excellent, intact historic surface, full height
Price: $2,900
SKU 707-100
For More Information, Please Contact David Hillier at 978-597-8084 or email drh@aaawt.com.