Armchair 1805 - 1815

Editor: Here we have Duncan Phyfe’s armchair, dating from 1805 to 1815. Made from wood, and currently residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I'm really drawn to the crisp lines and geometric shapes. What speaks to you about it? Curator: Well, let's consider the material and its context. This isn't just a chair, it’s a product of its time, reflecting the availability and exploitation of materials, like the wood itself. What kind of labor went into the carving? What about the sourcing? Was this from local forests, or further afield due to colonial trading? Editor: That’s interesting. I hadn’t thought about where the wood came from, just the final product. So, you're suggesting that examining its material origin expands its meaning? Curator: Exactly. It also allows us to question that old high art versus craft divide. Is furniture merely utilitarian or is there something inherently artistic in how it's crafted and for whom? Editor: That really makes you think about its value beyond its function! Did this chair, or ones like it, furnish everyday homes or just those of the elite? Curator: Phyfe was celebrated amongst wealthier clientele, though it's worth asking about who might replicate such design motifs with locally available and possibly cheaper means, bringing Neoclassical aesthetics into broader circulation. It's a study of power, access and aspiration. Editor: I’m seeing now that what looks like simple craftsmanship speaks to bigger issues, of economics and class and global connections, even at that time! Curator: Right. It reveals how even seemingly straightforward design implicates far wider production chains, and the historical relationships within which objects become invested with value.