Figure of Admiral Samuel Hood

A number of New York cabinetmakers produced neo-Egyptian furniture during the 1870s, but the firm Pottier and Stymus was most often associated with this style. This armchair and its matching chair, 1970.35.2, are not marked or labeled, but fit the cabinetmaker Ernest Hagen's description of their work as "with brass gilt sphinx heads on the sofas and armchairs, gilt engraved lines all over with porcailaine painted medallions on the backs, and brass gilt bead moldings nailed on." These chairs were probably part of a larger suite; a matching armchair is owned by the Art Institute of Chicago. The chairs retain their original custom-made upholstery, supporting the attribution to Pottier and Stymus, who devoted a section of their Lexington Avenue factory to the manufacturing of tapestry upholstery.