Armchair
Southern, Southside Virginia, 1700-1750
Ash and red cedar
Catalog no. 2

While many early Tidewater turned chairs show ties to British craft traditions, several features on this piece suggest the influence of French chair making practices. For instance, the back consists of turned spindles set into rails that are square or rectangular in cross section. This approach was employed on French chairs, cradles, and other turned forms throughout the eighteenth century, but was virtually unknown in Great Britain before 1800.

French settlers were an important cultural presence in the early South. More than 250,000 Huguenots fled France following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Some later settled in Tidewater Virginia, while others founded Manakin Town near present-day Richmond. Although the Manakin Town settlement failed, French cultural traditions, including furniture making, survived in Virginia for generations.