- 1420
THE IMPORTANT CLARK FAMILY QUEEN ANNE HIGHLY FIGURED MAPLE CHILD'S SLANT FRONT DESK-ON-FRAME, LONDONDERRY, NEW HAMPSHIRE, CIRCA 1734 |
估價
50,000 - 100,000 USD
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招標截止
描述
- Height 39 3/4 in. by Width 26 in. by Depth 16 in.
appears to retain its original surface and cast brass hardware; inscribed on proper left letter drawer Helen E. Schrow Everett Mass Feb. 22 1893
來源
James Clark (1691-1768) m. Elizabeth Fulton (1697-1732), Londonderry, New Hampshire;
Samuel Clark (1726-1792) m. Mary Folsom, Londonderry, New Hampshire;
John Clark (1761-1817) m. Sally Sarah Gray (1773-1857), Acworth, New Hampshire;
Judieth Sleeper Clark (1805-1859) m. Robert E. Clark (1791-1851), Unity, New Hampshire;
Sophia Judith Clark (1837-1915) m. Henry Schrow (1832-1919), Unity, New Hampshire;
Helen Elizabeth Schrow (1875-1964) m. Edward LeBaron (1873-1961), Everett, Massachusetts;
William Richmond, William's Antique Shop, Old Greenwich, Connecticut;
Acquired by William Richmond’s brother, Jacob Richmond, who was a prominent attorney in western Massachusetts. Jacob and his family resided in a large Historic Home built in 1791 by General Alexander Field, and the present lot (as well as another important Child’s Desk, lot 1419) were part of an important collection of American furniture formed by Jacob Richmond and his wife primarily during the 1950s and 1960s from the advice of his brother William. The present desk has remained in the "period rooms" of the Richmond residence In Massachusetts for nearly 60 years until its arrival in New York for the current auction;
by descent to his son, Robert Richard, the current owner.
Samuel Clark (1726-1792) m. Mary Folsom, Londonderry, New Hampshire;
John Clark (1761-1817) m. Sally Sarah Gray (1773-1857), Acworth, New Hampshire;
Judieth Sleeper Clark (1805-1859) m. Robert E. Clark (1791-1851), Unity, New Hampshire;
Sophia Judith Clark (1837-1915) m. Henry Schrow (1832-1919), Unity, New Hampshire;
Helen Elizabeth Schrow (1875-1964) m. Edward LeBaron (1873-1961), Everett, Massachusetts;
William Richmond, William's Antique Shop, Old Greenwich, Connecticut;
Acquired by William Richmond’s brother, Jacob Richmond, who was a prominent attorney in western Massachusetts. Jacob and his family resided in a large Historic Home built in 1791 by General Alexander Field, and the present lot (as well as another important Child’s Desk, lot 1419) were part of an important collection of American furniture formed by Jacob Richmond and his wife primarily during the 1950s and 1960s from the advice of his brother William. The present desk has remained in the "period rooms" of the Richmond residence In Massachusetts for nearly 60 years until its arrival in New York for the current auction;
by descent to his son, Robert Richard, the current owner.
Condition
Overall very fine condition. Wear commensurate with age and use. Appears to retain original hardware. There are some separations to the joints due to shrinkage of the boards. Half of the proper back right pad foot is lost. There is an old crack to the mid-molding on the top of the stand on the proper front left corner.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
拍品資料及來源
Many American cabinetmakers were ingenious with their creations. This exceptional figured maple child’s desk-on-stand is the embodiment of their wonderful ingenuity. Given the care that went into crafting this desk, the cabinetmaker most certainly had a close association with its recipient. The cabinetmaker selected the most brilliantly figured maple to make the case and drawer faces and they then fitted the interior with drawers, a prospect area, and even vertical letter drawers. The cabinetmaker’s usage of a complexly molded base molding with a scalloped edge further energizes the desk’s appearance.
The child, for whom this desk was made, was quite fortunate. Their parent, assuming that their child would outgrow the small desk, had commissioned apparently from the same cabinetmaker a lower case which the desk could be placed upon; a child’s desk-on-stand. Its idiosyncratic construction methods suggest that the craftsman who made this desk-on-frame had not made this form before. The cabinetmaker made a unique joint by having the base molding of the lower case cross over the apex of the cabriole leg’s knee. Generally, pieces that have base moldings are not crafted with cabriole legs. A related base molding joint also appears on much later Dunlap desks with cabriole leg (see Charles S. Parsons, The Dunlaps & Their Furniture, (Manchester, NH: Currier Gallery of Art, 1970)). A child’s desk in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 42.139) had a slightly later taller frame made for it in order to elevate it up (see Morrison H. Heckscher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985), p. 265-5, no. 172.
This remarkable desk-on-stand stayed in the same family for 225 years. When it was purchased from Mrs. Edward LeBaron it was accompanied with a note that identified the desk was made in 1734 and descended through the Clark family of Unity, New Hampshire. The first Clark to live near Unity was John Clark (1761-1817) of Acworth, New Hampshire which is only eight miles away. Given the proposed date of manufacture, it is however much more likely that the desk was made for his father Samuel Clark (1726-1792) who live in Londonderry, New Hampshire and would have been 8 years old at the time he received this desk.
The brilliance of regional cabinetmakers was their ability to use standard forms as a foundation of design and then create wonderful new objects, that in this instance, transcend the norm and place it as a masterpiece of American colonial design.
The child, for whom this desk was made, was quite fortunate. Their parent, assuming that their child would outgrow the small desk, had commissioned apparently from the same cabinetmaker a lower case which the desk could be placed upon; a child’s desk-on-stand. Its idiosyncratic construction methods suggest that the craftsman who made this desk-on-frame had not made this form before. The cabinetmaker made a unique joint by having the base molding of the lower case cross over the apex of the cabriole leg’s knee. Generally, pieces that have base moldings are not crafted with cabriole legs. A related base molding joint also appears on much later Dunlap desks with cabriole leg (see Charles S. Parsons, The Dunlaps & Their Furniture, (Manchester, NH: Currier Gallery of Art, 1970)). A child’s desk in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 42.139) had a slightly later taller frame made for it in order to elevate it up (see Morrison H. Heckscher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985), p. 265-5, no. 172.
This remarkable desk-on-stand stayed in the same family for 225 years. When it was purchased from Mrs. Edward LeBaron it was accompanied with a note that identified the desk was made in 1734 and descended through the Clark family of Unity, New Hampshire. The first Clark to live near Unity was John Clark (1761-1817) of Acworth, New Hampshire which is only eight miles away. Given the proposed date of manufacture, it is however much more likely that the desk was made for his father Samuel Clark (1726-1792) who live in Londonderry, New Hampshire and would have been 8 years old at the time he received this desk.
The brilliance of regional cabinetmakers was their ability to use standard forms as a foundation of design and then create wonderful new objects, that in this instance, transcend the norm and place it as a masterpiece of American colonial design.