Lot Essay
With their interlacing strap worked splats, stump rear legs, flattened arched seatrails, two-part vertical quarter-round glue blocks and through tenon construction, these chairs reflect the work of the Philadelphia trained Connecticut cabinetmaker Eliphalet Chapin (1741-1807) working together with his second cousin Aaron Chapin (1753-1835). Although constructed in the Philadelphia manner, these chairs exhibit the clear origin of Connecticut with their use of cherrywood, the abstracted shell-carved splat, and the lack of carving to the knees. These chairs share the same characteristics and are considered to be from the same set as a pair of chairs now in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at Yale and illustrated in Patricia E. Kane, 300 Years of American Seating Furniture (Boston, 1976) pp. 138-140, fig. 117. The Yale side chairs, originally owned by Alexander King (1749-1831) of East Windsor, Connecticut, were purchased in 1877 by Dr. Irving W. Lyon of Hartford, Connecticut. According to tradition, a bill from Eliphalet Chapin to Alexander King, which is now lost, accompanied these chairs at the time of Lyon's purchase. Lyon refers to a set of chairs, possibly this set, in his book on American furniture. He states, "'The writer is familiar with a set of Chippendale chairs with ball and claw feet made by Eliphalet Chapin of South Windsor, Connecticut, as late as the year 1781. The price paid for them at the time was 1 pound apiece'" (Kane, p. 138). Aaron Chapin worked with Eliphalet between 1774 and 1783 and married King's sister Mary (1756-1829) in 1777, supporting the theory that Eliphalet and Aaron worked together on these chairs.
Eliphalet Chapin of East Windsor came from a family of turners and woodworkers originating with the Hartford joiner Nicholas Disbrowe (1612-1683). In 1751 after the death of his father, Eliphalet became the ward of his uncle Pelatiah Pearce (1749-1829) of Enfield whose relatives, Joseph Pease Jr. (1728-1794) and Zebulon Pease (1749-1829) were joiners. It has been suggested that perhaps he even apprenticed with his second cousin, Joseph Pease, Jr. In 1766 Eliphalet worked in Philadelphia as a journeyman for up to four years. Returning to East Windsor in approximately 1769, he brought with him the knowledge of Philadelphia furniture construction and incorporated it into his own Connecticut-based style. Two years later he acquired half an acre on the Main street for his house and shop. In 1774 Aaron Chapin purchased a house next to Eliphalet. Aaron and Eliphalet presumably worked together until 1783, after which Aaron moved to Hartford to set up his own business. (Joseph Lionetti and Robert F. Trent, "New Information about Chapin Chairs," Antiques, (May, 1986) pp. 1084-1087.
A related armchair from a private collection is illustrated in Morrison H. Heckscher, American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Late Colonial Period: The Queen Anne and Chippendale, (New York, 1985) p. 46, fig. 10. Another related armchair in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at Yale is illustrated in Kane, p.141, fig. 119.
A group of related chairs with volute-carved scrolled splats are illustrated in Lionetti and Trent: an armchair, in a private collection and a side chair from the same set, are in the Barbour Collection at the Connecticut Historical Society, p.1086, fig. 8 and 9. A side chair with volute-carved scrolled splat in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at Yale is illustrated in Kane, p. 140, fig. 118. Another pair of side chairs with volute-carved splats and recorded as being made for Ebenezer Grant by Eliphalet Chapin for the dower of Grant's daughter, Mary Marsh, sold at Sotheby's New York, October 24, and 25, 1986, lot 229. An armchair and side chair with a diamond and volute-carved scrolled splat both in the Barbour Collection at the Connecticut Historical Society are illustrated in Lionetti and Trent, p. 1087, fig. 10 and 11.
Eliphalet Chapin of East Windsor came from a family of turners and woodworkers originating with the Hartford joiner Nicholas Disbrowe (1612-1683). In 1751 after the death of his father, Eliphalet became the ward of his uncle Pelatiah Pearce (1749-1829) of Enfield whose relatives, Joseph Pease Jr. (1728-1794) and Zebulon Pease (1749-1829) were joiners. It has been suggested that perhaps he even apprenticed with his second cousin, Joseph Pease, Jr. In 1766 Eliphalet worked in Philadelphia as a journeyman for up to four years. Returning to East Windsor in approximately 1769, he brought with him the knowledge of Philadelphia furniture construction and incorporated it into his own Connecticut-based style. Two years later he acquired half an acre on the Main street for his house and shop. In 1774 Aaron Chapin purchased a house next to Eliphalet. Aaron and Eliphalet presumably worked together until 1783, after which Aaron moved to Hartford to set up his own business. (Joseph Lionetti and Robert F. Trent, "New Information about Chapin Chairs," Antiques, (May, 1986) pp. 1084-1087.
A related armchair from a private collection is illustrated in Morrison H. Heckscher, American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Late Colonial Period: The Queen Anne and Chippendale, (New York, 1985) p. 46, fig. 10. Another related armchair in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at Yale is illustrated in Kane, p.141, fig. 119.
A group of related chairs with volute-carved scrolled splats are illustrated in Lionetti and Trent: an armchair, in a private collection and a side chair from the same set, are in the Barbour Collection at the Connecticut Historical Society, p.1086, fig. 8 and 9. A side chair with volute-carved scrolled splat in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at Yale is illustrated in Kane, p. 140, fig. 118. Another pair of side chairs with volute-carved splats and recorded as being made for Ebenezer Grant by Eliphalet Chapin for the dower of Grant's daughter, Mary Marsh, sold at Sotheby's New York, October 24, and 25, 1986, lot 229. An armchair and side chair with a diamond and volute-carved scrolled splat both in the Barbour Collection at the Connecticut Historical Society are illustrated in Lionetti and Trent, p. 1087, fig. 10 and 11.