Sofa
Duncan Phyfe
(American (born in Scotland), 1770–1854)
about 1820
Object PlaceNew York, New York
Medium/TechniqueMahogany, cherry, cane, modern upholstery
Dimensions86.36 x 193.7 x 59.1 cm (34 x 76 1/4 x 23 1/4 in.)
Credit LineThe M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts
Accession number39.114
On View
On viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
The base and S-curved legs of this sofa and the chairs, exhibited nearby, may be traced to the "sella curulis," an ancient Roman folding stool that was a seat of honor for magistrates who presided over the Roman republic. During the Middle Ages, this chair was used by heads of state and church leaders; it reemerged in the mid-eighteenth century in Europe, with the start of Neoclassicism. The so-called curule form carried centuries of associations with the classical world, power, and leadership-all qualities highly valued in the new American republic.
ProvenanceEarly history unknown; purchased, probably at auction, for The M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts and given to the Museum in 1939 (Accession Date January 12, 1939)
