Lot 270
  • 270

Very Fine and Rare Federal Carved and Inlaid Mahogany and Birchwood Lolling Chair, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Circa 1800

Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 USD
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Description

  • mahogany
  • Height 45 1/2 in.

Condition

Overall fine condition. Legs with dents and dings commensurate with use. Not fully examined fully under the upholstery.
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.

Catalogue Note

The graceful tubular arms supported on reeded balusters above leg squares with a rectangular insert of figured birchwood indicate that this remarkable lolling chair was made in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A nearly identical example is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 10.125.313)(R.T. Haines Halsey and Elizabeth Tower, Home of Our Ancestors, (New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., 1934), fig. 164). For an example with similar reeding and carved volutes to the arms see a settee in John S. Walton's advertisement in Magazine Antiques (May 1962), 81:5, p. 454.  Another related chair but lacking the reeding on the upper baluster is in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum (American Furniture with Related Decorative Arts: 1660-1830, ed. Gerald W.R. Ward, (New York: Hudson hills Press, 1991), pp. 219-20, no. 84). For addition information on related Portsmouth chairs see Portsmouth Furniture: Masterworks from the New Hampshire Seacoast, ed. Brock Jobe, (Boston, MA: Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities; Hanover, NH: Distributed by University Press of New England, 1993), pp. 367-9.