Description
We inherited this chair from my wife's paternal grandmother. The resided in Mercersburg, PA. and went to housekeeping around 1920. We are curious to learn the who/what/where of this piece. FYI - the seat bottom is screwed on from the underside of the chair.
Re: Early 20th Century Chair
This piece is a late 19th century "Dantesca" chair, an variation of the "Savonarola" chair. The style gets its name from Girolamo Savonarola (September 21, 1452 – May 23, 1498), who was a late 15th Century
Catholic Monk often pictured seated in such a chair. His fame was his crusade against what he called "The Vanities". His followers collected up the things Savonarola claimed were immodest and held huge
bonfires. In 1498 they held the last bonfire of the vanities and burned Savonarola. At auction they generally sell for a couple of hundred bucks a piece