Design for Three Tub Chairs 1800 - 1850

This watercolor work, "Design for Three Tub Chairs," now in the Met's collection, offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of 18th or early 19th century decorative arts. While the artist is unknown, the design itself speaks volumes about the period's social and cultural values. Furniture wasn't just functional; it was a statement of wealth, taste, and social standing. These tub chairs, with their elegant lines and delicate floral upholstery, would have been at home in a fashionable drawing room. The design underscores the importance of craftsmanship and the guild system that governed artistic production. The chairs' design also reflects broader trends in interior decoration, such as the embrace of Rococo or Neoclassical styles. By studying design drawings like this, along with related historical documents, we can reconstruct the social life of objects and the cultural contexts in which they were created and used.