Type of chair sometimes called a "church chair" because it can be used in two ways: first, as a (very) low chair; and, second, as a prie-dieu, a piece of furniture used for prayer, consisting a kneeling surface and an upright panel that is like a seat back, topped by a resting surface for hands, elbows, or prayer books. This chair has a padded seat (or kneeler) upholstered in red velvet with a floral embroidered banner across the seat and a silver and gold trim along the edge of the seat upholstery. There is a similar embroidery on the upholstered resting surface above the chair back. The chair back is elaborately carved and pierced in a design of large scrolls and leaf forms that serve as a frame for the central image--a cross, surrounded by carved rays, sitting on a globe. The seat rests on a curvilinear apron.
Italian
Chair,
mid 19th century
Rosewood
,
83 x 50.5 x 52 cm (32 11/16 x 19 7/8 x 20 1/2 in.)
Object details
Accession number
F28e4
Primary Creator
Italian
Full title
Chair
Creation Date
mid 19th century
Provenance
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Dimensions
83 x 50.5 x 52 cm (32 11/16 x 19 7/8 x 20 1/2 in.)
Display Media
Rosewood
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Chapel
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston: 1935), pp. 254-55. (possibly Italian)
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 292, no. 147.
Rights and reproductions
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Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.