Lot 1445
  • 1445

VERY FINE AND RARE WILLIAM AND MARY FIGURED WALNUT AND MAPLE DRESSING TABLE, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1715 |

Estimate
40,000 - 80,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Height 30 7/8 in. by Width 32 3/8 in. by Depth 21 7/8 in.

Condition

Wear, discoloration and minor losses commensurate with age and use. There are veneer patches throughout. Secondary wood: Oak IMPORTANT NOTICE: Purchasers may pay for and pick up their purchases from any of our Americana Week sales taking place from January 17-20, 2019, at our York Avenue headquarters until the close of business on Sunday, January 20, 2019. After this time, all property (sold and unsold) will be transferred to our offsite facility, Crozier Fine Art, One Star Ledger Plaza, 69 Court Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102. Once property has been transferred from our York Avenue location, it will not be available for collection at Crozier Fine Arts until Friday, January 25, 2019. Crozier's hours of operation for collection are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday-Friday. Please note, certain items of property, including but not limited to jewelry, watches, silver and works on panel will remain at 1334 York Avenue. Invoices and statements will indicate your property's location. For more information regarding collection from our offsite facility, please visit sothebys.com/pickup.
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

This dressing table is representative of a type of William and Mary case form made in Boston, with a richly veneered surface, dovetailed board case, trumpet turned legs, and flat serpentine stretchers. It displays striking panels of burl walnut with herringbone borders of walnut on the top and front of the case. The sides are ornamented with vibrant tiger maple veneers. The boldly turned legs are painted to simulate tortoiseshell. The stretchers are veneered in maple.  The design follows the English taste that was fashionable in Boston in the early 18th century, particularly the stretchers centering an oval platform which directly derives from English furniture made in the late 17th century.1 The dressing table survives in a fine state of preservation and retains its original turned drops, faux tortoise shell paint on the legs, and cast brass and engraved hardware.
Several other William and Mary high chests from Boston reflect a similar design and combination of woods. One formerly in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. William Coburn of Chestnut Hill, MA is in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum.2 Another from the collection of George S. Parker II was sold in these rooms, The Highly Important Americana Collection of George S. Parker II from the Caxambas Foundation, January 19, 2017, sale 9605, lot 2025. Another with a history in the Pickering family has a related lower case and attribution to Theophilus Pickering of Salem.3 1 See identical stretchers with an oval platform on a table at Beningborough Hall and one at Drayton House illustrated in Adam Bowett, English Furniture, 1660-1714: From Charles II to Queen Anne, plates 9:14 and 9:35.
2 See Brock Jobe, et al, American Furniture with Related Decorative Arts, 1660-1830 (New York, 1991), no. 26, pp. 78-80.
3 See Israel Sack Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Volume III, no. 1417, pp. 628-9.