VERY FINE AND RARE CHIPPENDALE CARVED AND FIGURED MAHOGANY SERPENTINE-FRONT SLANT FRONT DESK, ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN COGSWELL, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1770

Appears to retain its original cast brass hardware and it original rich surface.

George Motley collection, Lowell, Massachusetts;
G.K.S. Bush Inc., Washington, D.C.

Proper right front foot facing cracked, 1 1/4 by 4 in. patch to proper left side of top drawer, overall good condition.
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 slant front desk, with it vibrantly figured mahogany, delineated edges to the serpentine front and bold ogee bracket feet, is an exemplary example of Boston craftsmanship.  Further adding to the piece's allure is its rich untouched surface.  While slant-front desks were ubiquitous throughout the colonies and early Federal America, they were very rarely embellished with serpentine (single serpentine) fronts.  Significantly more prevalent were reverse-serpentine (double-serpentine or “oxbow”) front façades.  Block-front slant-front desks were also considerably more common. 

The overall proportions of this desk are superb. The very high bracket feet provide the necessary visual lift to the case and carry the crisply delineated blocked-ends of the case to the floor. Furthermore the serpentine is abruptly stopped three-quarters up the hight of the top drawer.  This sudden shift in movement successfully frames the serpentine on three sides.  The regularly used treatment is for two demilunes to be present on the top drawer which results in a disjointed appearance. As a comparison see two serpentine desks in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (see Morrison H. Heckscher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art II Late Colonial Period: The Queen Anne and Chippendale styles, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985), pp. 267-9, 174 & 175)  are of this other form.

Lastly the ogee bracket feet on this chest relates directly to those present on a two part slant-front desk attributed to John Cogswell (see Robert Mussey and Anne Roger Haley, “John Cogsell and Boston Bombe Furniture: Thirty-Five Years of Revolution in Politics and Design,” American Furniture 1994, ed. Luke Beckerdite, (Milwaukee, WI: Chipstone Foundation, 1994), p. 86, fig 17).