Tidewater Virginia, 1740-1750
Black walnut
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard William Ballard from the estate of Mary Wrenn Cofer Ballard in honor of her daughters, Mary Wrenn Ballard Oliver and Anne Lewis Ballard Weaver
Catalog no. 9
With a cabriole front leg and vase-shaped splats, this early smoking chair is late baroque, or “Queen Anne,” in style. Even so, the absence of other ornamentation is a manifestation of the growing interest in neat and plain furniture. Side chairs from the same shop survive as well. They probably were made in an established Tidewater Virginia town such as Norfolk, Hampton, or Williamsburg.