The Very Fine and Rare Harland Family Chippendale Shell-Carved Cherrywood Chest of Drawers, probably Chatham, Connecticut, circa 1789-1800

The Harland family of Connecticut;
Probable descent:
Thomas (ca. 1735-1807) and Hannah (Clark) (1754-1816) Harland of Norwich;
To their unmarried daughter Fanny Harland (1787-1859) and next to their grandson and her nephew, Edward Harland (1832-1915), who lived in the family homestead;
To his sister-in-law, Irene Elizabeth (Jones) Harland (b. 1841), widow of his brother Thomas, who disposed of the contents of the homestead. An extant receipt indicates that she sold the chest for $500 on September 30, 1916 to the dealer Morris Schwartz;
Collection of Morgan (1837-1921) and Fannie Bulkeley (1860-1937) of Hartford;
To their son, Houghton Bulkeley (1896-1966) of Hartford;
Offered at Sotheby’s, October 21-22, 1983, sale 5094, lot 321;
David Stockwell, Wilmington, Delaware;
Jack Barker, Chesterland, Ohio;
Collection of Frances Ingalls (1926-1996), Cleveland, Ohio;
Sotheby’s, Important Americana, January 17 and 19, 1997, sale 6957, lot 943;
Marguerite Riordan, Stonington, Connecticut.

Morgan Memorial, Hartford, Connecticut, Three Centuries of Connecticut Furniture, 1635 to 1935, June 15-October 15, 1935, no. 225.
Norwich Historical Exhibition, Norwich, Connecticut, Craftsmen & Artists of Norwich, September 12-October 3, 1965, p. 59, fig. 14, no. 33.
Connecticut Furniture: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Hartford: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1967, no. 63.

Comstock, Helen. “Cabinetmakers of the Norwich Area.” The Magazine Antiques (June 1965): 697;
Bulkeley, Houghton. “The Norwich Cabinetmakers.” In Bulkeley, Contributions to Connecticut Cabinet Making. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 1967, p. 44;
Kirk, John.  Connecticut Furniture: Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Hartford: Wadsworth Atheneum, 1967, no. 63;
Stockwell, David, advertisement. The Magazine Antiques (January 1985): 1;
Kugelman, Thomas P. and Alice K. Kugelman with Robert Lionetti. Connecticut Valley Furniture: Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries, 1750-1800. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society Museum, 2005, cat. 118, pp. 260-1.

Secondary wood is white pine. Minor repairs. Cast brass hardware replaced. Proper left front leg with vertical patch, several scrolls on feet restored.
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 cherrywood three-drawer chest with a block and shell façade represents a popular form made in the Colchester area of Connecticut, where craftsmen made casework inspired by nearby Newport for a prosperous local clientele.  Furniture in this distinctive style was widely disseminated and produced by shops throughout the surrounding area, from Chatham east to Colchester and Norwich.

This chest is relates closely with the work of James Higgins (1766-1827) of Chatham since it is very similar to a three drawer block and shell chest at Winterthur Museum with his signature and the date 1789 (see Kugelman, Thomas P. and Alice K. Kugelman with Robert Lionetti, Connecticut Valley Furniture: Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries, 1750-1800, Hartford, 2005, cat. 117, pp. 258-9).  Higgins grew up in the shipbuilding port of Chatham and later supplied furniture to its wealthy merchants engaged in the West Indies trade. He trained with a cabinetmaker familiar with Colchester practice and was likely a journeyman working in an unidentified shop when he signed the Winterthur chest in 1789. He married the following year and is recorded purchasing a house and shop in Chatham in 1799.

This chest displays features found on the Winterthur chest, such as the use of cherry as a primary wood and white pine as a secondary wood, the large, closely spaced triangular dovetail pins on the drawer sides, the convex shells with eleven rays that converge to form an hourglass at the top, and the concave shell with a serrated border around the perimeter. The shells, molded edge of the top, and covered cornice are details inspired by Newport casework. The short cabriole front legs combined with attenuated rear ogee feet are common in the Colchester style, as are the scrolled returns on the front knees and simple spurs on the side returns and brackets.  Five virtually identical block-and-shell chests are known, including one at the Henry Ford Museum (61.167.10), one in the Connecticut Governor’s Residence, and three in private collections (see Kugelman, et al, cat. 117B and note 3, p. 259.)

This chest has a history in the Harland family of Connecticut and was likely originally owned by Thomas Harland (ca. 1735-1807), the Norwich clockmaker, and his wife Hannah (Clark) (1754-1816), who married in 1779. Elisha Clark (1718-1804), who had lived near Chatham before moving to Wethersfield, may have purchased the chest as part of his daughter Hannah’s dowry. It is likely the “I Cherry Beauro” valued at $10 in the inventory taken after Thomas Harland’s death in 1807. The Harland’s daughter, Fanny (1787-1859), and grandson, Edward (1832-1915) inherited the family house and contents. At Edward’s death, his sister-in-law Irene Harland (b. 1841) dispersed the contents of the house. An extant receipt indicates that she sold it to Morris Schwartz for $500 on September 30, 1916. He subsequently sold it to the Bulkeley family, who owned it for three generations.