Heir and Space: Rush, Cane, and Splint

Today's post is going to be an educational one. I'll try and keep it fun too, but sorry guys, sometimes you've got to buckle down and learn. Let's talk about the various materials used to make chair seats, how you can tell the difference, and what this tells us about the chair itself.

We'll start with rush, which is the most widely used and recognizable. Rush seats get their name, quite logically, from the rush that is harvested, rolled, and woven to make the seat. We have a local craftsman who does our chair seats at the shop who harvests his own rush from the river bank behind his house. You don't have to do this though, most arts and crafts stores sell rush. Examples of rush seats have been found in Egyptian tombs and there are surviving rush seats from as early as the 14th century in Europe. In the American colonies rush seats were used frequently on seating furniture starting at the start of the18th century. 17th century American joiners favored plank seats, though from time to time we do see rush seats on chairs that pre-date 1700.

Now in my experience I've found rush seats to be wanting in the durability category, especially when there are animals in the house. I don't have a single rush seat in my house because my cats would tear it to shreds. Because rush breaks down over time, you don't frequently see original rush seats on 18th century chairs. As the rush wore and frayed it would be replaced every generation or so. Of course an early or original rush seat is a bonus, but a new or replaced rush seat does not greatly effect value either. Actually in an interesting twist, antique chairs with original seats are often harder to sell. Clients are reluctant to purchase them as they worry about using the original seat material. We have a fantastic Queen Anne chair here at the shop that's been here for ages. It's got the original crewel work (embroidered) seat cover. It's amazing but it clearly scares people off.

As I said, rush has been used on American seating furniture since the start of the 18th century. We see it on all periods of furniture so it's not an adequate dating tool. It will tell you a bit about the regionalism of the piece, however. Rush is not a formal material, as the most formal chairs of the 18th and 19th century had upholstered seats. The presence of a rush seat indicates the chair is country, or high country. Here are some examples of rush seats ~

A close up of a rush seat

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a rush seat on a c. 1740 William and Mary corner chair.
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A rush seat on a c. 1760 Queen Anne side chair
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A rush slip seat on a c.1780 Chippendale side chair with a gothic splat and Marlborough leg
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A rush seat on a set of c.1830 fancy painted Windsor chairs
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On to caning. Caning has been a popular seat material throughout civilized history. A caned day bed was discovered in King Tutankhamun's tomb, which is simply amazing because I can't get cane to stay intact for the two weeks it takes me to refinish a dining set. Caning was widely used in Africa and Asia and in the 17th century when trade increased with Europe it became a popular option in English and Continental chair making as well. For whatever reason, the trend did not follow the colonists to North America. Aside from a very small group of formal chairs made in Boston in the first half of the 18th century, we don't come across much American cane seated chairs. That is until the 19th century, when cane exploded on the American market.

A close up of a cane seat
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Here is a c.1710 side chair with cane back and seat. This was probably made in England, not America.
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This beautiful 19th century Continental chair utilizes caning on the entire frame.
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By the 19th century, caning was a popular option in America, as shown by this pair of c. 1840 painted tablet back Windsors.
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Finally let's discuss splint seats. I love a good splint seat, an early one can have the nicest, softest patina. Splint seats were typically made in the American colonies but cutting sliver thin strips of flexible wood, often ash, and weaving it in a simple pattern to make a durable seat. Splint seats popped up in the Colonies about the same time as rush- c.1700, and they were used interchangeably and on very similar chairs, though I'd offer that splint tends to be a little more country and naive than rush. Splint proves to be more durable over time, however, and I've seen several good 18th century chairs retaining their original splint seats. Splint became less popular as furniture became fussier and more sophisticated in the 19th century. You rarely see a 19th century chair with a splint seat unless it was seriously "make-do". The exception to this rule is the whimsical 'Adirondack' or 'Camp' furniture that became popular in the rural retreats of the wealthy at the start of the 20th century.