Williamsburg, Virginia, or Great Britain, ca. 1750
Mahogany and beech
Catalog no. 52
Embellished with naturalistic carved ornamentation, this elegant ceremonial armchair differs considerably from the Speaker's chair. Featuring the same tall proportions of other contemporary ceremonial seating forms, the chair likely was originally accompanied by a matching footstool, re-created here. The chair probably was made in the 1750s for the royal governor of Virginia to use at the Capitol in Williamsburg, although its placement in the building is unclear. Even less clear are the origins of the chair. While it may have been made by a skilled cabinetmaker in Williamsburg during the colonial period, carving and structural evidence also show strong ties to related British traditions. The Capitol chair may have been imported from Britain, as were portraits of the royal family, iron warming machines, coats of arms, and other symbolic items known to have been ordered for the Capitol and the Governor's Palace.
Virginian or British, the chair remains an object of central importance in the study of Virginia furniture, both for its symbolic meaning and because it inspired later ceremonial seating furniture.