Especially hard to identify are antique furniture forms that have been modified with carefully disguised restorations or replacements. This armchair has a replaced crest rail that was carved by the same faker who made many other pieces in this gallery. As so often happens with old chairs, this example probably fell over, thus breaking the crest rail and upper portion of the stiles.

The dealer who sold the Stones this armchair described it as "one of only three or four known." He pointed out that a nearly identical example was at the Winterthur Museum, a fact that was sure to please the Stones who were long-time supporters of that institution.

Fortunately, the Stones later acquired a nearly flawless example of the Gaines family’s work. The surface of the chair is old, if not original. The carving probably was done by Joseph Davis, a cabinetmaker who moved to New Hampshire from Boston during the late 1730s.

Wall Graphic: Image of an authentic armchair attributed to a member of the Gaines family, vicinity of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Photo, courtesy of the Winterthur Museum.