Southern Furniture 1680-1830

Slavery and Southern Furniture
Thomas Jefferson's use of slave artisans at Monticello was by no means unusual. Southern planters commonly sought skilled joiners, blacksmiths, weavers, and other tradespeople. Southern cabinetmakers, too, used enslaved African-Americans in their shops. So pervasive was the use of slave artisans that German visitor Johann David Schoepf noted in 1783, “There is hardly any trade or craft which has not been learned and is not carried on by negroes.”

In short, African-Americans played a vital role in the production of much southern furniture, yet their contributions remain unappreciated and unrecognized. To a large extent, this omission reflects the anonymity of these men, whose very existence rarely is noted in historical records. In an advertisement, Williamsburg cabinetmaker Peter Scott offered to sell land, furniture, tools, and “Two Negroes, bred to the Business of a Cabinetmaker.” Even the names of these individuals are not recorded.

The considerable presence of black artisans is also indicated by the many runaway slave advertisements that appeared in southern newspapers. Often these notices reflect the great value owners placed on skilled slaves. In 1784, William Fitzhugh of Virginia described slave James as “square and strong made, sensible and well spoken,” and “as good a joiner as any in Virginia.”

With the introduction of less stringent manumission laws after the Revolution, came a sizable increase in the number of free black artisans. By 1816, for example, free blacks John Raymond and John Ventus ran a large cabinet shop in Petersburg, Virginia. They employed several white artisans and proudly announced their ability to execute work in the “best and most fashionable” style. But firms like Raymond & Ventus were the exceptions.

Until we know more about the talented African-Americans who made of helped make many of the objects in this exhibit, out understanding of the southern cabinet trade will remain incomplete.

Armchair
Probably Monticello Joinery
Albemarle County, Virginia, 1790-1815
Cherry
Catalog no. 39

The neat and plain design of this chair echoes the decorative restraint that characterized much southern neoclassical furniture. However, the unusual form, square stance, and ascending arms have few American parallels. Instead, they reflect the French-inspired furniture made at Thomas Jefferson's slave-operated joinery at Monticello in the Virginia Piedmont.

A bustling and largely self-sufficient plantation community, the Monticello “family” included Jefferson's enslaved household servants, agricultural field hands, and a number of slave artisans who worked in a row of shops near the main house. Among the facilities was a “Joinery” where most of Monticello's architectural woodwork and some of its interior furnishings were fabricated.

First under the guidance of British and Philadelphia trained shop masters and later under the leadership of slave artisan John Hemings, Jefferson's joinery produced an innovative group of French-inspired furniture. This chair is based on a set of fauteuils, or armchairs, that Jefferson brought back from France. The illustration on the left shows that the French chairs have squared upholstered backs, ascending arms, and saber legs. Even more closely related is a Monticello joinery-made armchair seen in the illustration on the right.