Very Fine and Rare Queen Anne Turret-Corner Walnut Games Table, Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1760

two knee returns replaced.

Private Ohio collection;
Christie's, New York, Important American Furniture, Folk Art and Decorative Arts, October 8, 1997, sale 8746, lot 35;
Alan Miller, Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

Proper right rear return replaced, proper left front return replaced. Small triangular repair to proper right rear corner of flyleaf, break and repair to top of proper left front leg.
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An elegant example of the Baroque aesthetic in America, this card table reflects the preference in Boston for furniture in the English taste with a dynamic form and sculptural surfaces. It displays the additional embellishment of turret corners and is fitted with a drawer for the storage of game pieces.

With its turret corners, front cabriole legs and pad feet, the present table represents the same shop tradition as a table originally owned by Josiah Merriam (1726-1809), of Concord, New Hampshire, who served as a sergeant of Joseph Hosmer’s Company of minutemen during the Revolutionary War.¹ While both tables display a very similar design, construction and proportions, they differ in their hinge design.  The Merriam table features knife-action hinges that are more typically found on tables of this type. With its cotter-pin brasses and butt-hinges, the present table pre-dates the Merriam table and may stand as the earliest known Boston card table with cabriole legs.

The table is one of a small group of under ten tables made in Boston between 1730 and 1760 with turret corners over front cabriole legs and a width under 30 inches. One with a history in the Narbonne family was sold at Northeast Auctions, October 31, 2015, lot 630. One was sold at Christie’s, Important American Furniture, Outsider and Folk Art, January 23, 2015, sale 3703, lot 153. One was formerly in the collection of Israel Sack and illustrated in American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume IV, P3973, p. 1068. A third example from the collection of Mrs. J. Insley Blair was sold at Christie’s, Property from the Collection of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, January 21, 2006, lot 516. Another from the Ott Collection was sold at Christie’s, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph K. Ott, January 20, 2012, lot 150.  One owned by Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Cox was sold at Keno Auctions, January 18, 2011, lot 175.

¹ Skinner, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, October 29, 1995, lot 140.