Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Side Chair, possibly from the Benjamin Randolph workshop, Philadelphia, circa 1770

chair marked V, retains a rich dark historic surface.

Christie's, New York, Important American Furniture, Silver, Prints, Folk Art and Decorative Arts, January 22, 1994, sale 7820, lot 321.

Seat frame replaced.
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 side chair retains a rich dark historic surface and is numbered V of a larger set of chairs. It represents a popular chair pattern made in Philadelphia during the Colonial period, with a pierced splat adapted from Plate XIII and Plate XIV of The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Director by Thomas Chippendale (London, 1762). This chair is associated with the shop of Benjamin Randolph (1737-1792) on the basis of shared similarities with labeled side chairs numbered III and IV in the Karolik Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and two numbered I and II in a private collection.¹ These chairs are the focus of the article by Philip D. Zimmerman, “Labeled Randolph Chairs Rediscovered,” in American Furniture 1998, edited by Luke Beckerdite (Milwaukee: The Chipstone Foundation), pp. 81-98.

A nearly identical side chair, number III of a set, is offered as lot 2120 in this sale. Another side chair possibly made as part of the same set is illustrated in The Philadelphia Chair, 1685-1785 by Joseph K. Kindig, III.² Several other chairs are known with a closely related design representing multiple shop traditions. One at Yale University with a history in the Biddle family marked V and I with a slip seat frame numbered I displays addition acanthus carving at the top of the splat but is otherwise very similar.³ An armchair at Yale University, numbered II on the seat frame and slip seat, was formerly in the collection of Louis Guerineau Myers.⁴ An armchair at Winterthur Museum displays variations in the carving on the splat and knees.⁵ One from the Collection of Abram R. and Blanche M. Harpending was sold in these rooms, February 1, 1985, lot 609. Another with a scalloped seat rail is illustrated in Israel Sack, Inc., American Furniture from Israel Sack Collection (Washington, D.C., 1965), Vol. II, p. 313, no. 174.

¹ Edwin Hipkiss, Eighteenth-Century American Arts: The M. and M. Karolik Collection (Boston, 1950). no. 89, pp. 152-3 .
² Joseph K. Kindig III, The Philadelphia Chair (York, Pennsylvania, 1978), fig. 54.
³ See Patricia E. Kane, Three-Hundred Years of American Seating Furniture (Boston, 1976) no. 92, p. 109-110.
⁴ Ibid, no. 90, pp. 106-108.
⁵ See Joseph Downs, American Furniture (New York, 1952), no. 50.