England
Mid-18th century
Elm
43″ high x 26 1/2″ wide x 25″ deep (seat height 15 1/2″)

This primitive, hand-carved Windsor chair seems the direct ancestor of Nakashima’s lounge chairs of the 1950s.

It is an astounding piece in its own right: the seat is made from a single, solid plank of elm with wondrously expressive grain. The arm bow seems to be carved from one curved branch (100 years before steam-bending was invented). The old wood has a silky hand. One feels the commitment and care of the long-forgotten maker.

A chair with this dramatic sculptural value and superlative quality of construction is timeless. It will live as happily in a minimalist modern interior as it will in an old farmhouse.