Bentwood armchair from a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A bentwood armchair purportedly belonging to a black church in Tulsa that was looted during the Tulsa Race Massacre 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.

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