Windsor settee

Ten-legged Windsor settees are uncommon enough to attract special attention. Spindles repeated in the back of this atypical object create rhythm, while the well-proportioned turnings and carved arm rests promote harmony and balance. With turned legs, spindle backs, and carved plank seats, Windsor chairs and settees were sturdy and easy to produce in quantity and were therefore excellent seating furniture where durability was a concern. In addition, simple joinery and the repetition of parts allowed the chairs to be produced in batches, suggesting an early "mass-production" approach in which several turners might contribute parts to a single chair or settee. Philadelphia was a leading producer of Windsor seating, shipping chairs as far south as Louisiana and northward to distant Maine. This example was originally painted a grayish brown.

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**Excerpt from**

Kevin W. Tucker, DMA unpublished material, Label text (1985.B.62), 2006.