A Very Fine and Rare Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Card Table, the Carving Attributed to John Welch, Boston, Massachusetts circa 1750

Appears to retain its original hardware and its original finish.

John S. Walton, Inc., New York

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

secondary wood is 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.

This early Boston card table incorporates into its sophisticated design apron blocking reminiscent of that found on contemporary blockfront case furniture. It appears to retain its original surface and hardware.

Its exceptional carving is attributed to John Welch (1711-1789), the highly talented carver of pre-Revolutionary Boston, who carved virtually identical claw-and-ball feet on a set of chairs for the Boston merchant, Charles Apthorp (1698-1758).¹  Remarkably similar feet are found on a concertina games table also offered in this sale and a card table that descended in the Dalton family of Boston, both with carving attributed to Welch.²  As seen on chairs from the Apthorp set, the present table and two aforementioned examples have escape cuts (saw kerfs made during the removal of the waste stock) on the inner curves of the ankles.³  Cuts of this type suggest that Welch was initially unfamiliar with cabriole leg/claw feet construction, a notion reinforced by a repositioning of the toes near the side corners of the stock in his later work.

A Boston card table illustrated by Israel Sack, Inc. lacks carving on the knees but is otherwise very similar.⁴ One at Winterthur Museum made by Benjamin Frothingham (1734-1809) is a more attenuated example of the form.⁵ An example at Chipstone displaying acanthus-carved knees has a history in the Johnson family of New York.⁶ One at Yale University is of identical form but offers plain knees and pad feet.⁷  Another variation at Historic Deerfield exhibits a cockbeaded drawer and lacks pockets in the top.⁸  An additional related example extending by concertina-action with diminutive proportions, squared corners, a single drawer, claw-and-ball front feet, and rear pad feet has been published by Israel Sack, Inc.⁹

¹ See Leigh Keno, Joan Barzilay Freund, and Alan Miller, "The Very Pink of the Mode: Boston Georgian Chairs, Their Export, and Their Influence," ed. Luke Beckerdite, American Furniture, (Hanover: NH: Chipstone Foundation, 1996), fig. 1, p. 266.
² For the Dalton family table, see ibid, fig. 11, p. 276. It is currently in a private collection.
³ Noted in ibid, pp. 275-6.
⁴ Israel Sack, Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, vol. 1, (Washington, D.C.: Highland House Publishers, Inc., 1969), no. 74, p. 22.
⁵ See Jonathan Fairbanks and Elizabeth Bates, American Furniture, 1620 to the Present, (New York: Richard Marek Publishers, 1981), p. 171 and Nancy E. Richards and Nancy Goyne Evans, New England Furniture at Winterthur, (Winterthur, DE: The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc., 1997), no. 139, pp. 266-7.
⁶ See Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque, American Furniture at Chipstone, (Madison, WI:The University of Wisconsin Press, 1984), no. 150, p. 321.
⁷ See David Barquist, American Tables and Looking Glasses, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Art Gallery, 1992), no. 72, p. 165.
⁸ See Dean Fales, Jr., The Furniture of Historic Deerfield, (New York: E.P. Dutton and Company, Inc., 1976), no. 268, p. 129.
⁹ See Israel Sack Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume 6, (Washington, D.C.: Highland House Publishers, Inc., 1979), P4571, pp. 1546-7.