52nd Annual Delaware Show

INFLUENCES FROM ABROAD: BIEDERMEIER CHAIRS IN A NEW YORK TOWN HOUSE BY WILLIE GRANSTON Located within the Empire Parlor at Winterthur is a unique pair of side chairs. With distinctive double-balloon backs, incurvate stiles, and elegant scimitar legs, these chairs stand out from other pieces in the room (fig. 1) . 1 They are constructed primarily of mahogany and represent the aspirations of a social class that used interior décor, and especially furniture, to denote status and wealth through novelty. Unlike other classically inspired chairs, many of which pay homage to the Greek klismos design, these two, with their voluptuous silhouettes and dramatic curves, reflect forms more typically associated with Biedermeier furniture of Central Europe. The front legs of the chairs are cut from solid mahogany while the rear legs, which become the stiles, combine solid wood and veneer construction. From the base of the leg to the seat rail, the rear legs are solid. Continuing up from the seat rail, however, the stiles are veneered, with the veneers extending beyond the stiles and onto the edge of the back, gracefully connecting these structural components. The front side of the seat back is veneered with a piece of crotch-grain mahogany that, laid horizontally, visually extends the double-balloon shape and heightens the geometric nature of the chair. Around the edge of the back, layered and shaped veneers frame the center panel and form an abstracted tripartite design (fig. 2). 2 With the exception of the raised veneers, the backs of these chairs are mainly planar, relying on the rich figured wood for ornament, a device commonly found in Biedermeier furniture. A combination of the words bieder, meaning honest, and Meier, a common Germanic surname, Biedermeier furniture was popular between 1815 and 1848. Emphasizing fine surfaces and stylized interpretation of neoclassical forms, the furniture found favor among middle- and upper-class consumers. Unlike the formal interiors of nineteenth- Fig. 1. Side chair, probably New York, 1825 ‒ 40. Mahogany, cherry, ash. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1957.7401 — 103 —