Beschreibung:

Set of Twelve Federal Carved Mahogany Shield-back Dining Chairs, attributed to Thomas Burling or Robert Carter New York, c. 1790, consisting of two armchairs and ten sides, the molded crests above reeded and "fish-scale" carved splats converging at a petal-carved lunette, on overupholstered shaped seats on square tapering front legs ending in spade feet, the two armchairs with shaped arms with rosette-carved terminals on concave supports, old surface, (some repairs), ht. 38 1/2, seat ht. 17 in. Note: Similar chairs are in prominent public collections, including Winterthur, the Smithsonian, Yale University, and Boscobel. There is some speculation that both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned large sets of similar chairs made by Thomas Burling based on historical records that show substantial payments by each of those men to Burling in 1790.