Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Previous 1 2 / 2 Next

Chinese, China, for export markets

Armchair, ca. 1805

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Chinese

Title

Armchair

Year

ca. 1805

Medium

Asian hardwood, cane seat

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • Asian hardwood

Dimensions

98.4 x 55.9 x 50.8 cm (38 3/4 x 22 x 20 inches)

Place

China, for export markets

Type

  • Decorative Arts,
  • Furniture

Credit

Museum purchase: gift of Mrs. Carolyn C. Brooke in memory of General and Mrs. Everitte Saint John Chaffee
Collection of the Heritage Trust of Rhode Island

Object Number

1999.57.2

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Recent Acquisitions

February 18 - April 16, 2000

This armchair and oval tray represent significant "firsts" in the Museum's collection. Originally purchased in China by Colonel Edward Dexter of Providence, these objects are among the earliest known furniture imported from China by an American. Because furniture was so bulky to ship, it was never a profitable commodity in the China Trade; however, foreign traders living in Canton generally furnished their own residences and then returned with such possessions as part of their "privilege," or private cargo.

Records at the Rhode Island Historical Society suggest that these objects may have sailed with Dexter aboard the ship India Point, which returned from Canton in 1805. They probably furnished Dexter's house, now standing at 72 Waterman Street (coincidentally the house occupied a century later by collector and Museum benefactor Charles Pendleton). The initials EAD on the lacquer serving tray are those of Dexter and his wife, nee Abigail Smith. They were married in 1793, after which Dexter became a partner with his brother-in-law, Henry Smith, in the shipping business.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Armchair with the accession number of 1999.57.2. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use