Lot 1529
  • 1529

VERY FINE CHIPPENDALE CARVED CHERRYWOOD DESK-AND-BOOKCASE, COLCHESTER, CONNECTICUT, CIRCA 1775 |

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Height 83 1/4 in. by Width 39 in. by Depth 20 in.
 

Provenance

Wayne Pratt, Inc., Woodbury, Connecticut

Condition

The hardware is replaced. There are old vertical age splits to the sides of the lower case. The central finial plinth was cracked and reglued. The hinges for the slant lid and cupboard doors are replaced and there are associated patches around the current hinges. There is a 4" patch to the upper molding of the slant-front associated to a later lock mechanism, as well as a 2" patch to the molding above the slant-front. There is a 3" patch to the proper right side of the upper molding on the top drawer. The bottom drawer has an 18" patch to the proper right side of the upper molding and a 3" patch to the proper left side. There is a patch to the back of the proper right lower side molding of the bottom case, approximately 11" in length. The proper left bookcase door has a 12" long patch along the outer edge as well as age cracks.
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 desk-and-bookcase was made by a craftsman familiar with the established shop practices of Colchester, Connecticut. It most closely relates to pieces identified by Thomas and Alice Kugelman as the earliest of the Colchester groups, so named the Lord group for a high chest of drawers that belonged to Epaphras Lord, Jr. (1743-1819) of Colchester.1 This group represents a long shop tradition extending from circa 1765 to 1795, with multiple generations of craftsmen contributing to the body of work. This desk displays many notable design features associated with the Colchester school such as a steeply sloped pediment, rosettes carved with fylfots with four leaves and freehand carving between them, a dentil cornice molding, cubical capped side plinths, an unroofed bonnet cavity that is closed at the rear, the small notch on each of the circular cutouts, use of cherry as the primary wood, and bookcase doors that conform to the bonnet arch. Two related examples from this group with many of the same trademark features include a desk-and-bookcase and chest-on-chest owned by Julius (1755-1838) and Dorothy (Champion) Deming (1759-1830), who had lived in Colchester, Connecticut before their marriage in 1781. Both case pieces are in the collection of Historic Deerfield and illustrated as cat. nos. 96 and 97 of the Kugelman’s book.2 Another related desk-and-bookcase in a private collection with several differing details is likely the work of a Colchester-trained craftsman working in Williamstown, Massachusetts.3

1 See Thomas Kugelman and Alice Kugelman, with Robert Lionetti, Connecticut Valley Furniture (Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society Museum, 2005): cat. No. 94, pp. 212-4.
2 See ibid, pp. 217-220.
3 See ibid, cat. 97a, p. 219.