Lolling Chair

Collections

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Dateca. 1800

Mediummahogany and silk

Dimensions43 1/2 x 27 x 24 in. (110.5 x 68.6 x 61 cm.)

DescriptionFabric-covered side chair from Massachusetts with continuous molded contours on the arms and elegantly tapered legs

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gail-Oxford Collection

Status

On view

Label TextThe term “lolling chair” was used in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to describe a comfortable, fabric-covered chair with a tall back and open, un-upholstered arms. According to probate records of the period, these chairs were used in both formal parlors and bedchambers and were often grouped in pairs. A woman might have been seated in a chair such as this – a worktable by her side – as she read or did her needlework. This chair, with continuous molded contours on the arms and elegantly tapered legs was probably made in the first decade of the 19th century.

Object number2017.5.3