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Object Timeline

1972	We acquired this object.
2001	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2024	You found it!

Armchair (USA)

This is a Armchair. It was manufactured by South Carolina Vienna Bent Wood Furniture Company. It is dated 1885–1886 and we acquired it in 1972. Its medium is bent wood, caning. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

A chair formed from long, curved, pale, ash wood elements with a sinuous, ribbon-like back and an elongated triangular seat, which descends into three tapering legs at each point of the triangle. The seat has three curved insets which are covered in cream suede.

Enignum Chair Model (two Seater)
bent layered ash wood strips, suede upholstery.
Gift of Joseph Walsh.
2015-39-2

A chair formed from long, curved, olive ash wood, with an S-shaped back that grows from and merges into an elliptical form with two, tapering legs descending from the left and right edges. Four green suede-upholseted tubular segments form the basis of the seat.

Enignum Free Form Chair
olive ash wood stripped into thin layers, then manipulated and reconstructed,....
Gift of Joseph Walsh.
2015-39-1

A model for a low two-seater sofa is made of natural light ash wood whose frame is a contiguous curved form connecting its back to its three legs and base with no apparent breaks. It has a beige suede textile covering its tight upholstered seat with several subtle folds/tucks on the surface mimicking the wavy shape of the overall wood frame design. A single plank of arched smooth wood forms one front leg continuing and bending gracefully like a ribbon to establish a low open back and extends on a slope to become the second front leg. There is a solitary leg in the rear. When facing the model (piece of furniture), the front is angled and oblong in length. A technique of splitting the wood into thin long slices and then bending it gives some insight into designer’s process of using multiple layers to create the sinuous skeletal frame-like structure. Aptly named Enignum ,a play on the word enigma—mysterious, puzzling, leaves the observer questioning how this unique piece was made

Enignum Chair Model (two Seater)
bent layered ash wood strips, suede upholstery.
Gift of Joseph Walsh.
2015-39-3

Our curators have highlighted 1 object that are related to this one.

A pencil on paper sketch illustrating two roughly drawn eliptical forms, one above another, as a prepartatory for a chair design. The top form takes the shape of an elongated bean with sinuous lines forming stripes across it, and the right and left-most cuves accentuated with longer arcs. The bottom form has a horizontal teardrop shape, bulbous on the left side drawn to a fine point on the right side, with four legs protruding from it, two from the bulbous left and two on the right, one in an arc over the point, the other from the center-right forming a triangular shape. in the bottom right corner, the artist's initials [JW] are drawn in script.

Drawing, Preparatory Sketch for Enignum Free Form Chair
graphite on white wove paper.
Gift of Joseph Walsh.
2015-39-4

Its dimensions are

99.7 x 55.5 x 59 cm (39 1/4 x 21 7/8 x 23 1/4 in. )

It has the following markings

Label: text forthcoming

Cite this object as

Armchair (USA); Manufactured by South Carolina Vienna Bent Wood Furniture Company; bent wood, caning; 99.7 x 55.5 x 59 cm (39 1/4 x 21 7/8 x 23 1/4 in. ); 1972-17-1

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2CGcH/
Accession Number 1972-17-1
Object ID 18475767