An Important Chippendale Carved Mahogany Easy Chair, Attributed to James Gillingham, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania circa 1770

Appears to retain its original finish.

Descended in the family of Rowland Hazard (1801-1888), South Kingstown, Rhode Island, who married Mary (Peace) Hazard of Charleston, South Carolina;

To their granddaughter, Carolyne Hazard, of Peace Dale, Rhode Island, President of Wellesley College, 1899-1910;

The Robb Collection;

Israel Sack, Inc., New York

Gaines, Edith. "The Robb Collection of American Furniture: Part I", The Magazine Antiques (September 1967), fig. 14, p. 328

American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, Vol. V, pp. 1208-1209, fig. P4155

secondary woods are yellow pine, maple and oak; top of each arm has been rasped; proper left side knee return with a 3/4 inch restoration at tip; proper left front knee return with a 1/2 inch restoration to tip; later wooden bracing added to frame
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.

The American easy chair form originally served as an invalid chair in the seventeenth century and had become by the mid eighteenth century a very costly status piece displayed in the finest rooms of the house. The present example takes the form of a model made in Philadelphia late in the Colonial period with single-scroll arms derived from Chippendale-style sofas, arms attached to the rear stiles, and a straight front rail.¹ Chairs of this type offer an updated version of the design of their predecessors with proportions adjusted to suit the Chippendale aesthetic by reducing the height of the back and squaring the seat.

Displaying the art of the upholsterer and carver, this easy chair is distinctive for its dramatically-splayed rear legs and its finely carved knees with descending bellflowers articulated within acanthus leaf borders. It has a history in the family of Rowland Gibson Hazard (1801-1888) of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, a well-known Quaker businessman and writer on philosophical subjects with family connections in Philadelphia, who married Mary Peace of Charleston, South Carolina. It descended to their granddaughter, Carolyne Hazard, President of Wellesley College (1899-1910), who recalled sitting in her grandfather's lap "in the great chair."²  The chair has been associated with the work of James Gillingham (1736-1781), a cabinetmaker working on Second Street in Philadelphia from 1768 to 1773, on the basis of three chairs with his label displaying related cabriole legs with C-scroll borders and claw feet.³

A Philadelphia easy chair at Winterthur Museum of the same form but with carving by a different hand was formerly in the collection of Ella Parsons.⁴  Another related example of the form made in New York is in the collection of the U. S. Department of State.⁵

¹ See sofa designs illustrated in Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker's Director, London, 1762, plates XXIX and XXX.
² Edith Gaines,  "The Robb Collection of American Furniture: Part I," The Magazine Antiques (September 1967): fig. 14, p. 328.
³ See Luke Vincent Lockwood, Colonial Furniture in America, Vol. II, New York, 1926, figs. 558, 559, p. 94) and The Magazine Antiques, June 1946, p. 359.
⁴ See Joseph Downs, American Furniture, New York, 1952, no. 86.
⁵ See Clement Conger and Alexandra Rollins, Treasures of State, New York, 1991, no. 88, p. 176.