Pair of 19th Century Antique Southern Ladderback Side Chairs - Splint Woven Seats

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With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this wonderful pair of antique side … Read more With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this wonderful pair of antique side chairs. These chairs are believed to have been made for a home in South Carolina sometime during the second half of the 19th century. We were fortune enough to procure these chairs from a lovely home in coastal South Carolina during one of our delivery trips later last year. The information provided by the previous owner confirmed what we already suspected which is the chairs had been in the same family for generations and the entire collection of antique furniture that they owned all had ties to varying communities across South Carolina. These chairs are as charming and rustic as any pair that can possibly be found anywhere in todays market. It is unfortunate that so many examples of Southern furniture were destroyed in the American Civil War period and consequentially what furniture that did survived is by all accounts rare and difficult to recognize. On a brighter note this reality does make the pursuit of collecting Southern antique furniture all the more rewarding as availability and information on the subject is both hard to come by and a worthy challenge for all parties drawn to the regional history and tradition. It is our privilege to now currently own these wonderful primitive chairs and we have no doubt they will find a deserving home where they will be safeguarded for future collectors.
These chairs are believed to be constructed from ash or a very similar species of wood. Due to their rare nature we are herring to caution and not being absolute with our summation. The chairs are constructed in the ladderback format with simply turned stretchers and traditional pegged joinery. Each chair features a splint woven seat that were likely rewoven by a professional in the past half century. The most notable aspect of these chairs are the continual lobed finials that extend from the chair uprights throughout the frame. While the finials are charming in their own right what makes them truly special is how they have remained rounded in the front and nearly completely flattened on the backsides. We owe a great mentor and friend of ours credit for understanding what causes this usual wearing pattern. In the 19th century children were taught to take their first steps with the assistance of these chairs. If you can image a child grasping the base of each chair leg while the back of the chair frame is laid down upon the ground with only the backsides of the finial tops making contact to the floor. Similar to how a plow is pushed forward the child would grip the base of each chair leg and drag the chair forward so that they could balance while taking their first steps. We felt it necessary to include that anecdote with this offering so that none of the charm of these wonderful primitive chairs is lost to future owners of these antique heirlooms. The chairs measure 18" wide x 14" deep x 35 3/4" tall with a 14 3/4" seat height. See less