Very Fine and Rare William and Mary Walnut High Chest of Drawers, King or Queens County, New York, Circa 1720

Wear commensurate with age and use. Hardware replaced. Backboards of the upper case are replaced. The applied laminates on the stretcher are replaced. Secondary wood: poplar
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.

Since the discovery of a William and Mary high chest with flaring trumpet caps on its legs signed by Samuel Clement (w. 1698-1726) any high chest discovered with this attribute has been ascribed to the Clement workshop (see Dean F. Failey, Long Island is My Nation: The Decorative Arts & Craftsmen, 1640-1830, (Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, 1998), nos. 39 and 40, pp. 38-39).  However the continued discovery of additional high chests with flaring leg turnings but constructed differently suggests that there were several cabinetmaking shops in Kings and Queens Co, producing this form.  The presently offered lot, the Ten Eyck family high chest (sold at Sotheby’s, New York, The Property Of Dr. and Mrs. Henry C. Landon III, January 24, 2009, sale 8513, lot 6), and a high chest once owned by C.M. Traver, illustrated in Luke Vincent Lockwood, Colonial Furniture in America, Vol. I, (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,1926), p. 77, fig. 70 and sold at Sotheby’s, New York, Important Americana, October 9, 1997, sale 7025, lot 479 were probably made by the same maker.  The three chests have identical stretchers and drawer arrangement.  Further all three high chests have related complicated skirt profiles lacking on other New York high chests. Other published second generation non-veneered William and Mary New York high chests include two examples illustrated in Failey, Long Island is My Nation, nos. 16A and 17A, pp. 9-13-9-14. Another sold at Sotheby’s, New York, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords, October 28, 2004, sale 8016, lot 207 for a record $198,400.