Object Details
Artist
Unidentified
Luce Center Label
An unknown artist probably made this piece for a minstrel show during the late nineteenth century. Minstrel shows were hugely popular, and the instruments, especially the banjo, often appeared as decorative furniture, clocks, and wall hangings. The artist created Banjo Chair by fixing brackets around the seat, carving the seat back to resemble a peghead, and inlaying thin strips of wood to represent the strings. (Lynda Hartigan, Made with Passion, 1990)
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Date
ca. 1875
Object number
1986.65.73
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Decorative Arts-Furniture
Folk Art
Medium
turned, inlaid, painted, stained, and varnished wood
Dimensions
41 x 15 3/8 x 20 5/8 in. (104.2 x 39.1 x 52.4 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Decorative Arts
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 25A
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Object\musical instrument\banjo
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1986.65.73