Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State

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Web Property of the U.S. Department of State

Chippendale Black Walnut Side Chair

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Object Details

Maker
Unknown
Date
ca. 1740-1760
Geography
United States: Massachusetts: Boston; United States: New York: New York City
Culture
North American
Medium
wood; black walnut; eastern white pine; soft maple
Dimensions
Overall: 38 5/8 in x 21 1/2 in x 21 1/4 in; 98.1075 cm x 54.61 cm x 53.975 cm
Provenance
By descent from John Aspinwall (1707-1774) of New York, New York, and Flushing, Long Island; to the donors, of Philadelphia
Inscriptions
"IIII" chiseled on the inside of the front rail; a small inventory label "94/1920" on the rear bracket of the right rear leg. A paper label taken from the bottom of the slip seat, now in the Curator's file, reads, "Property of/Mr. Joseph l. Phillips/Belonged to/Mr. John Aspinwall/of Flushing, Long Island/Born 1707 Died 1774/great grandfather of/G. Woolsey Hodge"
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Phillips
Collection
The Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
Accession Number
RR-1976.0064

Object Essay

This particular chair is number four in a set that originally belonged to John Aspinwall.1For references to Aspinwall, see Henry D. Waller, History of the Town of Flushing (Flushing, N. Y.: J. H. Ridenour, 1899), 108–11, and Harriet D. Lawson, Olde Flushing (Flushing, N. Y.: Dondero Lawson, 1952), 120–25. A self-made man, Aspinwall went to sea, worked his way to the command of a ship trading with the West Indies, and then became associated with Gerard G. Beekman. Aspinwall soon went into partnership with his son-in-law, Lawrence Kortright, and the two made a fortune privateering during the French and Indian War.2Philip L. White, ed., The Beekman Mercantile Papers (New York: The New-York Historical Society, 1956), 315.

Gilbert Tapley Vincent

Excerpted from Clement E. Conger, et al. Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1991.