Side Chair 1794 - 1799

This side chair was made by Samuel McIntire, an American architect and craftsman, out of mahogany. Note the chair's shield-shaped back, a prevalent neoclassical motif that evokes a sense of protection and strength, like a heraldic emblem. Centered in the shield's design is a carved urn, a symbol laden with meanings related to mourning, remembrance, and immortality. In ancient Greece, urns were used to hold the ashes of the dead, and often ornamented funerary monuments. Yet, this is a decorative object, signaling not death, but memory. Notice how McIntire's urn is not merely a symbol of loss; it's integrated into the very structure of a functional object. It becomes part of the sitter's experience, a subtle reminder that even in daily life, we are surrounded by the echoes of the past. The chair invites us to consider how symbols evolve, echoing through history, constantly reshaped by cultural memory.