Sorry, I can't "identify" the chair but to say it's a perfect example of why not to ever EVER paint a good piece of wood furniture. Paint gum wood, particle board, but don;'t paint oak or walnut nor mahogany etc.
It's paint in the joints that you see....and that yellowish stuff is likely wood putty used to fill a chip or gouge.
I would get some artist oils or acrylics and paint the residual paint in the cracks.
Nice chair....and it used to be nicer!
Linda C

I was the one who put the wood filler in the cracks that were separating and had been filled with something white and painted over with dark brown acrylic or something that was chipping. I was wondering about the white "plaster" looking stuff that was in there - and if the carving might not really be carving but a plaster cast? Except that it's not symmetrical/perfect so looks more handcarved. You can see on the seat where someone tried to paint "grain" where there were some gouges, and the dark lines on either side of the wood filler on the back are paint too.

Is it possible the chair is oak except for the center panel? When might this style have been made?

Nice chair! I can see the grain continuing into the carved area.

Era? My guess would be that it was made 1920-1940, because I'm looking at a chair with very similar leg and seat construction where I do know the date.

There was a "style" known as "California Mission" that had that sort of styling. It went along with the small bungalows and the revived interest in the Arts and Crafts movement ... but it was simpler and less expensive.

Thanks - so you think it *was* carved? Any idea what this brittle white stuff is?

I will have to touch up with artist's brush and acrylics if wood filler won't take stain - but figured anything was better than leaving gaps with chipping edges. You can see the "muddy" streaks from someone trying to paint "grain" on seat and a little on the top of the back near crack, I'll have to leave that since I don't want to strip the whole thing, but hopefully I can do a better job of blending in repairs if I use a smaller brush and less paint than the first person.

I want to put this by my stairs (had been looking for a bench but found this, think it's unique). If I can't get it looking decent I guess I'll try scuffing it and putting good coat of varnish on, put it on (covered) porch for the summer?

I am working on a house where gaps in the woodwork (nearly 200 years old) are filled with DAP filler, used for plaster repairs. Cheaper, easier and probably closer at hand than wood filler. It's something you either take out and do right, or paint over. You just never know what somebody is going to use to make a repair, especially if the article is just 'old' at the time and not yet reached the age of antique or collectible. When you said the material was the consistency of dried plaster, it sure rang bells. LOL

The white stuff - anyone's guess.

Painting it over with a color that matches the medium shade of the wood is the best way to deal with it until you are ready to take it out and do a proper glue job.

Well, at first I thought I needed to glue and clamp the splits (since most of them are on joints), but b/c of the angle of the back that might be hard, and the chair is still sturdy, splits were really cosmetic. So I decided to use wood filler. Since it's not taking stain, I'll have to use acrylics in medium and dark tones.

Should this be an inside chair, or you think I could use it on the porch during summer (it would only get wet if there was a storm with wind, porch is covered and 7 ft deep)? I have no idea what it's worth, don't want to ruin it outside if it's worth much more than what I paid for it (or would pay for a painted porch rocker).

It is very likely to fall apart if it's outside in the dampness.
It really needs to be knocked apart and reglued. A big job but I thinik the chair is nice enough to warrant it.
Linda C

I am working on cleaning up and repairing an old wooden chair rescued from my parent's basement. It has a couple of cracks in the seat, although it's still sturdy, and not cracked all the way through. I have been there and done that with wood filler not taking a stain, and my husband gave me a hint on how to more easily do minor crack repairs and make it more unobtrusive. I had to do some sanding on the piece, and carefully saved the wood dust into an envelope. This I mixed with a small amount of Elmer's wood glue (dries clear) into a paste and used like one would wood filler. Of course the sawdust is an exact match.

I certainly wouldn't recommend this on a fine antique, but it does a decent enough job for a piece you intend to use for functional purposes that it changed my mind about painting it instead, as the chair wasn't really nice enought to do a careful renovation.

I've done the sawdust and glue thing on some cracks/checks in my unfinished trim while I was finishing it (even one door). I think it only works if you stripped it and can get down to bare wood to get the sawdust though, and I'm trying to *not* strip this piece. The cracks may also be too deep/wide to really use the sawdust paste in - I've only used it for fairly shallow narrow cracks.

I think I'm stuck with acrylics over the wood filler until I have the time/inclination to dig it all out and reglue it - but I've got all the doors (except 1.5 that I've already finished), all the sashes, all the aprons, a few door casings, and some remaining baseboard to finish in the house first. Oh, and 2 newels posts, plus get finish on the hand rail and rosettes that just have stain on them (were in a hurry to get it up b4 my sis and DN came from airport that night).

Plus a coffee table that I stripped and stained but never finished last year, the matching end tables that probably have to be refinished, an uphosltered chair to clean up and touch up the wood legs (I did clean the arms fairly well with naptha, may not bother to replace the worn-off finish), my great-grandpa's Victrola was just cleaned but needs some new finish on the top (water damage), and if DH will let me touch it his grandma's mantel clock that is all alligatered and chipping. Theh there's always the oak dresser I stripped 25 years ago and threw some stain on, but never finished b/c I didn't get all the paint out of the pores.