Important Federal Red and Polychrome Paint Decorated Pine Chest of Drawers, Mahantango or Schwaben Creek Valley, Northumberland and Schuylkill Counties, Pennsylvania, Mahantango or Schwaben Creek Valley, Northumberland and Schuylkill Counties, Pennsylvania, circa 1830

Appears to retain its original stamped brass hardware.

A.H. Rice, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
George Horace Lorimer, Philadelphia
Joe Kindig Jr., York, Pennsylvania
Dr. and Mrs. Henry P. Deyerle, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Sotheby’s New York, "The Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Henry P. Deyerle," May 26-27, 1995, lot 307

"Decorated Furniture of the Mahantongo Valley," Center Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, 1987

 

Eberlein, Harold Donaldson and Courtlandt Van Dyke Hubbard. "Pennsylvania Dutch Furniture Combined Color and Vigor," American Collector 6, no. 1 (February 1937): n.p.
Nutting, Wallace. Furniture Treasury, Framingham, Massachusetts: Old America, 1928, fig. 296
Reed, Henry M. Decorated Furniture of the Mahantongo Valley, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Center Gallery, Bucknell University, 1987, p. 13
---. "Finding the Fabulous Furniture of the Mahantango Valley." Pennsylvania Heritage 21, no. 4 (fall 1995): 20
Schaffner, Cynthia VA. and Susan Klein. American Painted Furniture, 1790-1880. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1997, p. 143
Stoudt, John Joseph. Pennsylvania Folk Art: An Interpretation. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Schleeter's, 1948, p.271
Weiser, Frederick S. and Mary Hammond Sullivan. "Decorated Furniture of the Mahantongo Valley." The Magazine Antiques 103, no. 5 (May 1973): 935
---. "Decorated Furniture of the Schwaben Creek Valley." In Ebbes jer Aile, Ebber Ebbes fer Dieh (Something for Everyone, Something for You). Breinigsville, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Society, 1980, p. 347
American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 183, fig. 154

No apparent inpainting under blacklight. A small 2 1/2 inch by 1/4 inch corner of proper left front style with small dent and paint loss below and has been professionally repaired in a completely reversible manner.
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.

The chest, with graduated drawers, inset paneled sides, and turned, vase-form legs, is typical in construction and relates closely to several similar surviving chests and slant-front writing desks from this group. This example, however, is distinguished by the quality and pattern of its painted decoration, consisting of carefully rendered leaping stags, undulating flowering vines, birds, and stylized central tulips emanating from urns and compass stars on a salmon pink ground. Many of the painted decorative devices on the drawers, such as the quarter fans and painted stringing, may have been influenced by earlier patterns of neoclassically inspired wooden inlay. The consistent shape and character of the painted, petal-form, yellow and green rosettes decorating the front stiles and case rails of the chest suggest that they may have been produced with a stamp or stencil made and used by this particular decorator, whose identity remains unknown. -J.L.L.