The 'Giannestras' Important Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Blockfront Chest of Drawers, Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1770

Appears to retain its original hardware.

Mrs. Smith, Winchester, Massachusetts;
Mrs. Esther Brodhurst, Waterloo, New York;
Dr. and Mrs. Giannestras, Cincinnati, Ohio;
Israel Sack, Inc., New York
Sotheby's New York, Fine American Furniture, Folk Art amd Oriental Carpets, October 26, 1985, sale no. 5376, lot 89 sold for $159,500 (on cover);

Secondary wood white pine, dark old rich color carving with dark old color. Drawer runners for second drawer from top secured with plugged nails from side of case. Drawers with minor filler strips for shrinkage.
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.

Bockfront furniture was a specialty of leading cabinetmakers of the Boston-area, where the earliest documented case piece with a blockfront façade is a desk-and-bookcase made by Job Coit in 1738.¹  Furniture of this type was costly to make, due to the additional time required to shape the drawer fronts from solid wood and the excess of mahogany discarded as a result. As such, only the most prosperous members of society were able to afford case pieces of this style.

The present chest follows a popular blockfront chest pattern fashioned with an overhanging top, a façade with rounded blocking, four graduated drawers, a skirt pendant, and four claw feet with retracted side talons. The acanthus carving on the knees is a rare refinement known on few other Boston high style case pieces.  Related knee carving and claw feet are found on a bombe chest of drawers in the Karolik Collection.²  Knee articulated in a similar manner appears on a blockfront chest that descended in the family of Lemuel Haskins.³  For a closely related blockfront chest without carving on the knees, see one illustrated in Israel Sack, American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume VIII, P5515, p. 2096.

¹ See Nancy Richards and Nancy Evans, New England Furniture at Winterthur, 1997, no. 205, p. 431.

² See Albert Sack, The New Fine Points of Furniture, New York, 1993, p. 108.

³ See Israel Sack, Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume IV, P3853, p. 1030.