Rocking Chair Manufacturer: A. H. Ordway and Company (American)

1893

American Decorative Arts

By appointment, Hume Furniture Study

Furniture made of reeds or other pliable material has a very long history going back to Egyptian times. In the mid-nineteenth century, reed furniture began to be made in factories and thus became available to a wide public. The forms ranged from planters to music stands to parlour suites. Examples made in the 1890s, like this rocking chair, are the most ornate, with curvaceous, sprawling designs incorporating whimsical elements, such as chains and flower buds.

Medium

Beechwood, iron and rattan

Dimensions

47 × 27 1/2 × 18 1/2 in. (119.4 × 69.9 × 47 cm)
16 in. (40.6 cm) S.H.

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Schwartz

Accession Number

1976.110

Geography

Manufactured in South Framingham, Massachusetts

Culture

American

Period

19th century

Classification

Furniture

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Bibliography
  • "Acquisitions 1976," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin 36, no. 3 (Fall 1977), 33, 56, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

rocking chairs

Marks

A paper label glued to one of the cross braces reads: "THE/ORDWAY CHAIR/ Manufactured by A. H. Ordway and Co./ South Farmington, Mass./ PATENTED/ April 22, 1890/ May 23/ 1893/ Beware of in-/fringements and/spurious imita-/tions."

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

View IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more

Linked Art

API response for this object

Linked Art is a Community working together to create a shared Model based on Linked Open Data to describe Art.