- 1446
VERY RARE CHIPPENDALE CARVED AND FIGURED MAHOGANY HIGH CHEST OF DRAWERS, CARVING ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN POLLARD (1740-1787) AND/OR RICHARD BUTTS (W. ABT 1765-1775), PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1765 |
估價
80,000 - 120,000 USD
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招標截止
描述
- Height 93 in. by Width 45 in. by Depth 25 1/4 in.
finials, cartouche and majority of applied carving is replaced.
Condition
Wear, discoloration and minor losses to edges commensurate with age and use. Age cracks to the sides of the case. Three drawers have been lipped, the top long drawer in the upper case, the bottom left drawer in the lower case and the shell carved drawer in the lower case. The knop on the shell carved drawer has been reset from its original position. The hardware appears to be replaced. Few minor losses to the rosettes. There is a triangular patch to the cornice at each front corner. Each of the rear knee returns has had a small crack to the foliate scroll tip, one was cracked and reglued the other was patched (approx. 1" x 1/2"). The central carved ornament on the upper frieze (approximately 7" wide by 4" high including the central foliate cartouche) is original, while the rest of the foliate carving is replaced. The foliate scrolls flanking the shell on the lower central drawer, are replaced. The proper left scroll of the cornice was previously cracked and reglued. Secondary wood: poplar and white pine
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
This exceptional high chest a monumental statement of the Rococo aesthetic in Philadelphia, where cabinetmakers excelled at integrating rococo designs on case pieces and specialist carvers executed the most sophisticated carved decoration in the colonies. Its en suite dressing table is in the collection of the U.S. Department of State.1
The distinctive pendant bellflower with beads on the skirt is a trademark motif found in the work of the Philadelphia carver, John Pollard (1740-1787), who executed very similar ones on commode seat side chairs with hairy paw feet commissioned by John Cadwalader (1742-1786) from Benjamin Randolph (1737-1792) in circa 1769.2 John Pollard was the principle carver in Randolph’s shop at the time of the Cadwalader commission and is believed to be responsible for the masterful carving of the commode seat chairs.3 As Pollard was known to reuse his carving repertoire, this motif is found on other examples of his work, including a set of chairs made for David Deshler (d. 1792), a set of chairs made for Charles Thomson and a tea table made for the Biddle family.4 Pollard was trained in London and working in Philadelphia by December of 1765, when Benjamin Randolph (1737-1792) recorded in his receipt book a payment for Pollard’s rent. Randolph financed Pollard’s emigration and employed him by indenture. He worked in the Randolph shop during the 1760s and early 1770s. By 1773, Pollard had established a business with Richard Butts on Chestnut Street, between Third and Fourth Streets, opposite Carpenter’s Hall.5 On February 22nd of that year, the Pennsylvania Gazette reported that Pollard and Butts could provide “all manner of carving” at the Sign of the Chinese Shield.”6
This high chest and its matching dressing table were likely made during Pollard’s tenure with Richard Butts. Several other very closely related high chests and dressing tables represent the same shop tradition. These include a high chest at Winterthur Museum with a history in the Turner family; a high chest in the Karolik Collection owned by Judge Stacy Potts of Trenton, New Jersey; and a high chest and dressing table that belonged to Joseph Moulder (c. 1722-1779) of Philadelphia.7 A dressing table at Bayou Bend also appears to be part of this group of related case furniture.8
1 See Clement Conger and Alexandra Rollins, Treasures of State (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991): no. 57, p. 141.
2 For two chairs from the Cadwalader suite, see Leroy Graves and Luke Beckerdite, “New Insights on John Cadwalder’s Commode-Seat Side Chairs,” American Furniture 2000, figs. 3 and 5, pp. 154-5. See also Andrew Brunk, “Benjamin Randolph Revisited,” American Furniture 2007, fig. 48, p. 33.
3 See Graves and Beckerdite, pp. 153 and 156.
4 One chair from the Deshler set is illustrated in Israel Sack Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume VI, P3920, p. 48. See one chair from the Thomson set at Chipstone in Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque, American Furniture at Chipstone, Madison, 1984, no. 63, pp. 144-5 and for the tea table, Christie’s, January 18-19, 2001, lot 119.
5 See Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art, Philadelphia, 1976, p. 114.
6 See Andrew Brunk, “Benjamin Randolph Revisited,” American Furniture 2007, p. 6.
7 See Joseph Downs, American Furniture (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1952): no. 195, Edwin Hipkiss, M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts (Boston: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1950): no. 33, p. 58, Morrison Heckscher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985): no. 165, and William Voss Elder and Jayne Stokes, American Furniture, 1680-1880 (Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1987): no. 63.
8 See David Warren, et al, American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Colleciton (Houston: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1998): F128, p. 78.
The distinctive pendant bellflower with beads on the skirt is a trademark motif found in the work of the Philadelphia carver, John Pollard (1740-1787), who executed very similar ones on commode seat side chairs with hairy paw feet commissioned by John Cadwalader (1742-1786) from Benjamin Randolph (1737-1792) in circa 1769.2 John Pollard was the principle carver in Randolph’s shop at the time of the Cadwalader commission and is believed to be responsible for the masterful carving of the commode seat chairs.3 As Pollard was known to reuse his carving repertoire, this motif is found on other examples of his work, including a set of chairs made for David Deshler (d. 1792), a set of chairs made for Charles Thomson and a tea table made for the Biddle family.4 Pollard was trained in London and working in Philadelphia by December of 1765, when Benjamin Randolph (1737-1792) recorded in his receipt book a payment for Pollard’s rent. Randolph financed Pollard’s emigration and employed him by indenture. He worked in the Randolph shop during the 1760s and early 1770s. By 1773, Pollard had established a business with Richard Butts on Chestnut Street, between Third and Fourth Streets, opposite Carpenter’s Hall.5 On February 22nd of that year, the Pennsylvania Gazette reported that Pollard and Butts could provide “all manner of carving” at the Sign of the Chinese Shield.”6
This high chest and its matching dressing table were likely made during Pollard’s tenure with Richard Butts. Several other very closely related high chests and dressing tables represent the same shop tradition. These include a high chest at Winterthur Museum with a history in the Turner family; a high chest in the Karolik Collection owned by Judge Stacy Potts of Trenton, New Jersey; and a high chest and dressing table that belonged to Joseph Moulder (c. 1722-1779) of Philadelphia.7 A dressing table at Bayou Bend also appears to be part of this group of related case furniture.8
1 See Clement Conger and Alexandra Rollins, Treasures of State (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991): no. 57, p. 141.
2 For two chairs from the Cadwalader suite, see Leroy Graves and Luke Beckerdite, “New Insights on John Cadwalder’s Commode-Seat Side Chairs,” American Furniture 2000, figs. 3 and 5, pp. 154-5. See also Andrew Brunk, “Benjamin Randolph Revisited,” American Furniture 2007, fig. 48, p. 33.
3 See Graves and Beckerdite, pp. 153 and 156.
4 One chair from the Deshler set is illustrated in Israel Sack Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume VI, P3920, p. 48. See one chair from the Thomson set at Chipstone in Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque, American Furniture at Chipstone, Madison, 1984, no. 63, pp. 144-5 and for the tea table, Christie’s, January 18-19, 2001, lot 119.
5 See Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art, Philadelphia, 1976, p. 114.
6 See Andrew Brunk, “Benjamin Randolph Revisited,” American Furniture 2007, p. 6.
7 See Joseph Downs, American Furniture (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1952): no. 195, Edwin Hipkiss, M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts (Boston: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1950): no. 33, p. 58, Morrison Heckscher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985): no. 165, and William Voss Elder and Jayne Stokes, American Furniture, 1680-1880 (Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1987): no. 63.
8 See David Warren, et al, American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Colleciton (Houston: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1998): F128, p. 78.