EXCEPTIONAL QUEEN ANNE RED-PAINTED, CARVED AND FIGURED MAPLE OPEN ARMCHAIR, Portsmouth, New Hampshire or Southern Coastal Maine, circa 1745

Appears to retain its original red paint.

George Augustus and Estelle Farrel Goss, Middlebury and Guilford, Connecticut.

Surface marks and scratches are commensurate with age and use. Feet are at original height. Small chip, approximately 1/2 in., to base of proper left front foot. Chip to proper right arm at juntion of stile.
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 outstanding armchair with its exquisitely turned front stretcher, graceful curved back and bold solid brush feet relates to a group of furniture made in or around Portsmouth New Hampshire during the first half of the eighteenth century.  A nearly identical armchair (with replaced arms) is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Frances Gruber Safford, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art I. Early Colonial Period: The Seventeenth-Century and William and Mary Styles, (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007), no. 38, pp. 102-3.  A refinished side chair from the same shop sold in these rooms January 18, 2003, sale 7859, lot 563 for $11,400.  The celebrated Willliam and Mary oval top tavern table at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was likely made by the same artisan (Safford, Early Colonial Period, no. 55, pp. 138-40).