WindsorChair essays

WindsorChair essays In the Abernathy Room of Starr Library are a half dozen sack-back style Windsor Chairs. The sack-back name comes from the original tendency to cover the back of this chair with a sack to prevent winter breezes from penetrating through the spindles. These chairs are not originals but are reproductions of chairs originally made in America circa 1760 under the Queen Anne period of design. Under the seat of the reproduction is a label that provides no information but the name of the production company. This chair has 17 total spindles on the lower back. The two spindles nearest the hand rests have been worked on the lathe and include vase and bulb motifs. These spindles are toped or met by the first rail, which runs in a U-shape around the seat of the chair. This rail is approximately one inch thick, with the exception of the armrests that are nearer to three inches wide. The meeting of the armrest and the rest of the rail is done in a very simple rounded edge without heavy decoration. The ends of the armrests are designed with carved knuckles. The crest piece is arched and supported by nine spindles that run directly through the armrest from the seat. The spindles do not pierce the crest, but are attached in drilled holes. This piece is decorated with a shallowly carved oval running parallel along the entire arch. The seat is a horseshoe shape with a contoured surface designed for comfort. The seat piece is approximately one and a half inches thick with rounded edges. Each of the fifteen spindles is fitted into its drilled hole and glued in place. The legs of the chair are all shaped in the same pattern. They have been turned with a similar vase and bulb style as the two decorated spindles from the armrests. The spindles used in the stretchers are of a different design than the legs. These spindles are designed symmetrically with a lozenge shaped middle and two bulbs at each end. The two front legs extend at...