A VERY FINE AND RARE WILLIAM AND MARY CARVED AND POLYCHROME PAINT DECORATED MAPLE BANISTER-BACK ARMCHAIR, SUFFOLK OR ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1715 |

the Windsor style plank seat is an early replacement for a rush seat.¶

Lillian Blankley Cogan Antiquary, Farmington, Connecticut, September 1978;
Vogel Collection no. 306.

Overall fine condition showing wear commensurate with age and use. The painted surface, while early, is not original to the chair. There is evidence of wear to the painted surface consistent with use, particularly to the hand and arm rests.
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.

This chair is quite unusual for have conical arm supports.  The vast majority of leather upholstered or banister back chairs have ball-and-baluster supports.  A banister back chair with conical arm support is in the collection the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (acc. no. 63.1046) (Richard H. Randall, Jr., American Furniture in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, (Boston, MA: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1965), p. 161, no. 125).  Another nearly identical chair is illustrated in Wallace Nutting, Furniture Treasury, (New York: MacMillan Co., 1928), no. 1927.  Other chairs with conical supports are illustrated in Erik K. Gronning, “Luxury of Choice: Boston’s Early Baroque Seating Furniture,” American Furniture 2018, ed. Luke Beckerdite, (Milwaukee, WI: Chipstone Foundation, 2018), figs. 38, 99, 101, and 107.