Side chair

ArtistAttributed to the Workshop of Duncan Phyfe (American, 1768-1854)

Dateabout 1815

Dimensions39 in. (99.1 cm)

Mediummahogany

ClassificationFurniture

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. George P. MacNichol, Jr.

Object number

1975.49

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 29

DescriptionCarved.

Label TextA leading cabinetmaker in New York City, Duncan Phyfe was a tastemaker—the English Neoclassical style of his furniture became the height of fashion among New York’s elite. He included details derived from classical antiquity, such as the lyre that forms the splat (the upright panel of the chair back)—a motif that is one of the most recognizable of Phyfe’s style. A low-relief carving of cornucopias and sheaves of wheat decorate the rail of the chair.