Bentwood armchair from a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Manufactured by

Unidentified

Owned by

Adams-Harris, Vanessa

Snow's Consignment Store, American, founded 1995

Unidentified Woman or Women

Date

late 19th-early 20th century

On View

Community/Third Floor, 3 051

Exhibition

Power of Place

Medium

wood and metal

Dimensions

H x W x D: 38 1/2 × 20 1/2 × 17 3/4 in. (97.8 × 52.1 × 45.1 cm)

Description

A bentwood armchair purportedly belonging to a black church in Tulsa that was looted during the Tulsa Riot of 1921. The chair has curved arm rests. The arm rests are attached to the chair back and seat with oval-shaped, metal cleats. Both uprights at the sides of the chair back are also attached to the seat and to the top rail. The chair back has seven (7) rungs at the back. The chair also has two (2) horizontal rungs on the proper left and proper right sides, connecting the proper left and proper right legs. There are two (2) additional rungs at the back connecting the rear legs. At the front is only one (1) rung at the top between the front legs. The chair seat is a square shape with curved corners. The seat is has been slightly molded towards the back to support the sitter. The chair back curves out toward the arm rests.

Place collected

Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America

Classification

Religious and Sacred Objects

Type

armchairs

Topic

American West

Race relations

Race riots

Religious groups

Segregation

U.S. History, 1865-1921

Violence

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Vanessa Adams-Harris, citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Object number

2014.22

Restrictions & Rights

No Known Copyright Restrictions

Usage

CC0

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5617962ce-f64e-4409-a59f-185b871e90ad