An Important William and Mary Carved and Turned Maple Upholstered Armchair, Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1705-1715

refinished. proper right stile cracked and reglued. Tenons patched at junction of arms to stiles. proper left front foot partially patched.
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 remarkable armchair is one of less than a ten surviving William and Mary leather upholstered examples from Boston with carved crests and front stretchers.¹  This chair is all the more significant in that it is the only surviving intact slot-crest example from Boston.²  Two side chairs from the same shop survive.  One is located in the Fred Johnston Museum in Kingston, New York and the other is in a private New England collection.³

¹ Including this example approximately seven examples survive that can be subdivided into two general groups. The first group consist of two nearly identical examples one in the collection of Winterthur (Benno M. Forman, American Seating Furniture, 1630-1730: An Interpretive Catalogue, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1988), pp. 308-10, no. 64) and the other in the collection of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities (Dean F. Failey, Long Island Is My Nation: The Decorative Arts & Craftsmen, 1640-1830, (Cold Spring Harbor, New York: Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, 1998), p. 26, no. 23).  These two chairs are of the earlier variant and have turned side, rear and central stretchers.  The second group of chairs relates to currently offered example however they have arched reserves for the leather upholstery on the carved crest rail.  The second group consists of five nearly identical examples.  The first is in the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum and retains it original upholstery and finish (Benno M. Forman, American Seating Furniture, 1630-1730: An Interpretive Catalogue, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1988), p. 341, fig. 180).  This chair has restored feet and one finial.  The second example is in the collection of the Henry Ford Museum (Marshall B. Davidson, The American Heritage History of Colonial Antiques, (New York: American Heritage Pub. Co., 1967), pp. 72-3) and has a replaced front stretcher. Another branded Mancius was sold at Pook & Pook, Downingtown, Pennsylvania, January 14 & 15, 2011, lot 470 but was lacking its feet. Joseph Kindig, Jr. advertised and example in The Magazine Antiques (May 2009) with replaced feet. A finial example is in a private New England collection and retains its feet and some of its original finish.

² Another slot-crested chair is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It has unfortunately, it appears, undergone extensive restoration (Marvin D. Schwartz, American Furniture of the Colonial Period, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1976), p. 25, no. 22, (acc. no. 30.120.73).

³ Roger Gonzales and Daniel Putnam Brown, Jr., “Boston and New York Leather Chairs: A Reappraisal,” in American Furniture, editor Luke Beckerdite, (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Chipstone Foundation, distributed by the University Press of New England, 1996), p. 182-4, figs. 13 and 15.