Chair
This side chair is an example of the "exotic" furniture that Lockwood de Forest designed and produced at the Ahmedabad Wood Carving Company in western India. De Forest's synthesis of straightforward plank construction and solid rectilinear form advocated by design reformers, with Indian, North African, and Near Eastern vocabularies of ornament, is characteristic of the Aesthetic movement. The chair is upholstered with a geometric-patterned and richly embroidered fabric (now worn) made at Ahmedabad and of the type that designers like Tiffany used for exotic effect in Aesthetic-style interiors. This chair may have belonged to a suite purchased by Baltimore & Ohio Railroad heiress Mary Elizabeth Garrett for her home in Baltimore.
Artwork Details
- Title: Chair
- Designer: Designed by Lockwood de Forest (American, New York 1850–1932 Santa Barbara, California)
- Maker: Ahmedabad Wood Carving Company
- Date: ca. 1881–86
- Geography: Possibly made in Ahmedabad, India; Possibly made in New York, New York, United States
- Culture: American
- Medium: Probably teak; silk embroidery on linen
- Dimensions: 32 3/8 x 18 1/4 x 18 1/2 in. (82.2 x 46.4 x 47 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, The Overbrook Foundation Gift, 1992
- Object Number: 1992.340
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.