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  APPLE GREEN SETTEE WITH EXCEPTIONAL FOLK STYLE PAINT DECORATION, PROBABLY OHIO OR INDIANA, 1870-90
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APPLE GREEN SETTEE WITH EXCEPTIONAL FOLK STYLE PAINT DECORATION, PROBABLY OHIO OR INDIANA, 1870-90:

When it comes to paint-decorated, plank-seated, country Windsor settees of the mid-19th century, there are the average, the above average, and the extraordinary. This ca 1870-1890 example falls into the third of these classifications, the one that truly epitomizes the definition of American folk art. This is the bench that belongs in the folk art enthusiast's sitting room under the game board collection, or in the entryway under the album quilt, or down the main hall under the Frost hooked rug. It has paint-decorated elements in a unique and dynamic, geometric style with a variety of interesting features. The whimsical designs along the crest rail look pawns from a chess set in the center, with fish-shaped silhouettes at either end. These fish are repeated four times front of the rectangular stretcher, which is carefully chamfered and mortised into the turned legs. There are stylized "W's" at the top of each lyre-shaped back slat, and the whimsical vases below look like the landscape in a book by Doctor Seuss. But the best part of all is arguably the elliptical shapes on the seat, two larger ones on the outside and two smaller in-between, that probably, in good humor, were intended to illustrate the back sides of the family it was made for.

When everything above is combined with the vibrant color of the apple green background, plus the outstanding condition and surface of the paint and decoration, what results is one of the best folk-art decorated settees one can acquire from this period.

The bench is of Midwestern origin, probably Ohio or Indiana, and a period copy of a Pennsylvania settee. It was likely made by a Pennsylvania German immigrant who moved to one of these states.

Condition: Excellent for the period, with only the most minor wear.
   
Primary Color: green
Earliest Date: 1870
Latest Date: 1890
For Sale Status: Sold
Price Please Call or Email
E-mail: info@jeffbridgman.com
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