This armchair embodies the hierarchy of family life in colonial British America. The head of the family would often sit in such a large, elaborate chair, while his wife might have a more modest version and his children would sit on benches or stools. Although this chair has a rush seat, rather than expensive leather or fabric, its carved crest rail and feet and turned front legs and stretcher indicate this chair was made for a prosperous individual and not for the average colonist.
**Excerpt from**
DMA unpublished material.
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