Easy Chair
Charleston, South Carolina, 1765-1775
Mahogany with tulip poplar and bald cypress
Catalog no. 14

In most respects, this easy chair is typical of those produced in late colonial Charleston. Its construction mimics nearly every other local easy chair, and its knee carving strongly relates to work on several Charleston chairs and tables. Often thought to have been inspired by Philadelphia or New York furniture-making traditions, this elaborately decorated chair instead reflects Charleston's profound socioeconomic ties to Great Britain. With a history of ownership in local families, the chair is distinguished by its cone-shaped arms and sleek lines. The identity of this chair's maker is unknown, although the account books of Charleston cabinetmaker Thomas Elfe list easy chairs with the same features, including feet carved in the shape of “Eagle claws.” The use of castors is consistent with eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century practices in both Britain and America. Wheels were especially useful on easy chairs, which were regularly moved around a room to take best advantage of the available heat in winter.