The Peter Oliver Very Fine and Rare Queen Anne Figured Mahogany Block-Front Slant-Front Writing Desk, Boston, Massachusetts circa 1760

Appears to retain its original hardware; retains a dark rich surface probably original.

Originally owned by Peter Oliver, of Middleborough, Massachusetts;

Thence through his family to a descendant who sold it to Thomas Weston, Jr., author of Peter Oliver, the Last Chief-Justice of the Superior Court of Judiature of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (Boston, 1886);

To his daughter, Grace Weston, of Middleborough;

Israel Sack Inc., 1953.

American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, Vol. II, p. 520, no. 1238; and Vol. I, p. 223, no. 564

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 blockfront desk has survived in remarkable condition. In addition to representing the most expensive type of furniture made in the Boston-area during the eighteenth-century, it is one of two examples of its particular slant-front desk form that survives. It is an unusual variation of the form in that is fitted with a movable writing slide between its interior and elaborate blockfront façade. Based on the exceedingly few extant examples, this form was a rarity in its own time and likely commissioned for specific space within an office or counting house.

This desk was originally owned by Peter Oliver, the Boston Loyalist and Chief Justice of the Colony of Massachusetts. Born in Boston, Oliver graduated from Harvard University and was appointed to the Inferior Court of Common Please of Plymouth County in 1747 and to the Superior Court in 1756. He served as Chief Justice of Massachusetts from 1772 until 1775, during which time he served at the famous trial of those accused in the Boston Massacre. He lived in a grand country house, Oliver Hall, in Middleborough, Massachusetts, which was considered to be one of the finest residences outside Boston. Because of his Loyalist stance, the Sons of Liberty burned his house to the ground and the Massachusetts legislature later impeached him. In 1776, he left for Nova Scotia with the British forces and later moved to England, never to return to America.

John Amory, the Boston Tory merchant, originally owned the other extant example of this form, which has survived with its original large brasses and side-mounted carrying handles. It descended through the Amory and Codman branches of his family and is currently in the Karolik Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.¹

¹ See Edwin Hipkiss, Eighteenth Century American Arts, The M. and M. Karolik Collection, Cambridge, 1950, p. 44, no. 26.