A near or altered pair of Federal mahogany dining chairs, reputedly from Hickory Hill Plantation in Alabama, home of Andrew Jackson's close ally and business partner, General John Coffee. Klismos shaped chairs, each with a top rail in the form of a rectangular molded tablet, rounded top rail and curving in at center, over a mid-rail with carved rosette flanked by open scrolled elements; curving stiles; trapezoidal slip seat with yellow damask upholstery, sabre legs with roundels at knees. One chair has a scrolled crest which appears to have been added or repaired, the other does not. 32 3/4" H and 32 1/2" H, seats 18 to 18 1/2" from ground. Chair with crest has small metal plaque reading: From Hickory Hill near Florence, Ala. Old Home of Gen. John Coffee, Presented by his great granddaughter Rachel Jackson Dyas, 1905. Note: John Coffee (1772-1833) commanded troops under General Andrew Jackson during the Creek War and the War of 1812 in Alabama and Louisiana, and was among Jackson's closest allies. Prior to the war, he and Jackson, along with John Hutchings, operated a tavern and dry goods store near the Hermitage in Nashville. Coffee married Mary Donelson, the niece of Rachel Donelson Jackson. After the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, Coffee settled in north Alabama, where he became a surveyor, land developer, and planter, and he was one of the principal founders of Florence, Lauderdale County. Hickory Hill Plantation burned in 1865. These dining chairs resemble ones in the collection of The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson. They were likely made in Philadelphia, circa 1815. For the last several decades, they have been at Dozier Farm, a National historical register property in Nashville. (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com)

1st chair: added crest, 1 ear repaired or replaced. 1 front leg broken and repaired. Rear leg starting to split at joint of seat/leg. Small loss to veneer at bottom of one front leg. Stains to seat. 2nd chair: Both ears repaired or replaced, modern bracket reinforcements to under seat to top of leg joints.