A FEDERAL URN-BACK MAHOGANY SIDE CHAIR, Hartford County, Connecticut, Circa 1795

The secondary woods are maple and pine; proper front left diagonal brace replaced; rear triangular glue blocks added.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The urn-back chair was popular with Hartford area cabinetmakers and their clients in the last decade of the 18^th century. This mahogany example is similar to sets of cherrywood chairs documented to important Hartford cabinetmakers, such as Aaron Chapin, who made a set in 1791 and Kneeland and Adams dating to 1793. Chairs from these sets appear in three museum collections, Winterthur, the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Ellsworth Homestead (see Kugelman, Thomas P. and Alice K. Kugelman with Robert Lionetti. Connecticut Valley Furniture: Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries, 1750-1800. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society Museum, 2005, fig. 7.2, p. 357 and cat. 173a, p. 379). What sets this chair apart are details such as the diagonal bracing for the frame, its molded stiles, and the use of mahogany, all indicating it was made in yet another, as yet unidentified, shop.