

Rocking chair, 1820–50
American
Maple, birch
American
Maple, birch
38 1/4 x 22 5/8 x 28 in. (97.2 x 57.5 x 71.1 cm)
Friends of the American Wing Fund, 1966 (66.10.23)
Previously reserved for the elderly and infirm, rocking chairs became ubiquitous in America after the Revolution. The Shakers produced slat-back rocking chairs both for their own use and for sale to the outside world. On this example, the oval finials, round hand grips, and shaped blades suggest it was made in the New Lebanon, New York, community.







