<I>Dan Chair</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2010
name: label: Created by
content: Michael Puryear, American
notes: label: Caption
content: Artist Statement:
label: Caption
content: “The opportunity to work with woods supplied by Historical Woods of America, specifically poplar from Monticello and pecan from Mt. Vernon, provided me with the opportunity to honor and acknowledge the contributions of African American slaves to this country. Like my own ancestry this heritage began before the founding of the United States. African Americans have fought with honor and loyalty in every war of our nation. They have significantly contributed economically, socially, culturally and politically to American culture.
label: Caption
content: The Dan Chair is an expression of my pride in being a descendant of slaves. It is an interpretation of a style of chair found among peoples of what was historically known as the Slave Coast of West Africa. One of those peoples is the Dan.
label: Caption
content: The chair symbolizes the nobility of American slaves and the ukibori, a [Japanese] technique of producing raised patterns in wood, on the legs represents the scars of bondage.”
label: Description
content: Low chair by Michael Puryear inspired by a West African design. The chair has a burnished graphite finish over the crafted wood to produce a silver metallic sheen. Small circular bars form the upper half of the chair. The top bar is curved with angled ends. Joins connect this piece to matching bars which meet at the seat base. The base is flat and rectangular and set between thicker framing pieces with rounded edges. There are joins for the four (4) chair legs in these connectors. The legs flare out from the top and have a rim around the base. The front two (2) legs have raised markings in the wood intentionally imitating lash marks.
place: label: Place depicted
content: West Africa, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Africa
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Craftsmanship
label: Topic
content: Design
label: Topic
content: Furniture design
label: Topic
content: Identity
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: United States History
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
label: Exhibition
content: Reclaiming My Time
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 052
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2017.18
objectType: label: Type
content: seats and seat components
label: Type
content: chairs
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Michael Puryear
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: enamel paint and graphite on poplar and pecan wood
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 27 1/2 × 31 × 17 in. (69.9 × 78.7 × 43.2 cm)