Very Fine and Rare Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Pier Table, carving attributed to Richard Butts, Philadelphia, circa 1770

retains a rich historic surface, front and back rail cut to reduce size, one side edge of top reshaped.

Leigh Keno American Antiques, New York;
Alan Miller, Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

George Parker, “Early American Furniture in Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Academy Review, 43: 2 (Spring 1997), 14.

Side rails cut but appear to be original in form and construction. Triangular break to proper right rear corner of top. Minor loss to fret carving at proper right front rail. Table reduced approximately 10 inches in width.
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.

During the Colonial period, handsome pier tables such as the present example stood among the rich furnishings in affluent Philadelphia drawing rooms, usually positioned against the “pier” of a wall, or that part of the wall between the windows, with a looking glass suspended above. Tables of this type were finished on three sides, usually made in pairs and often designed with impervious marble tops to accommodate the service of food and drink. Many examples, including this one, were likely stylistically inspired by British precedents. Thomas Chippendale illustrated designs for similar sideboard tables with fretwork rails in The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Director.¹

In 1772, the Philadelphia Price Book classified similar tables as “frames for Marble Stands” or “frames for Marble Slab,” four or five feet in length and having either claw or Marlborough feet. The prices quoted for the frames of such tables included £3.10 for Marlborough legs and brackets, £4 for plain knees and claw feet and £5 for leaves on the knees with carved moldings. An elegant example of the form, a mahogany table like this one with fretwork carving, claw feet and leaves on the knees was among the more expensive versions. The additional carving would have added £1 to £2, raising the price to the veritable sum of £6 to £7.

Retaining its original wooden top, the present table displays exceptional carving attributed to Richard Butts, whose body of work reflects his significant skill and talent. He was likely a professionally trained immigrant carver who was working in partnership with John Pollard (1740-1787) on Chestnut Street by 1773. He was the carver for the suite of Cadwalader chairs and card tables with paw feet and straight gadrooned rails. The Joshua Eyre games table with hairy paw feet offered in this sale has carving attributed to Butts as does a side chair offered in this sale with carving attributed to the shop of Pollard and Butts. He is responsible for the carving of a sofa with hairy paw feet now at Independence Hall in Philadelphia that is illustrated in William Hornor, Blue Book Philadelphia Furniture (Washington, D.C., 1977, pl. 99, p. 85. A tea table with hairy paw feet that sold in these rooms, Property from a Private Collection, January 18, 2003, sale 7866, lot 907 is

Similar fretwork is found on the Marlborough legs of a group of Philadelphia mahogany games tables. One was sold in these rooms, Important Americana from a Private Collection, January 22, 2011, lot 8776, lot 7. Another is in the collection of Bayou Bend.² One is at the Henry Ford Museum.³ Fretwork of this type is also found on contemporary Philadelphia chairs with Marlborough legs, including on a set with a history in the Penn family.⁴ Furniture with Marlborough legs overlaid with fretwork is often associated with the work of Thomas Affleck (1740-1795), who made a set of upholstered armchairs with such legs for Governor John Penn (1729-1795) in 1766.⁵

¹ Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Director (London, 1762), pl. LVII and LVIII.
² See David Warren, et al, American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection, Houston, 1998, F116, p. 68.
³ See Helen Comstock, American Furniture, Exton, PA, 1962, no. 370.
⁴ See a side chair sold in These Rooms, Important Americana from a Private Collection, January 22, 2011, lot 8776, lot 8.
⁵ See Clement Conger and Alexandra Rollins, Treasures of State, New York, 1991, no. 55, pp. 138-9.