A VERY FINE AND RARE WILLIAM AND MARY CARVED MAPLE 'LEATHER-BACK' SIDE CHAIR, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1710 |

retains a dark historic surface; with a 'Prince of Wales' carved crest and conforming stretcher.

Philip Budrose, Marblehead, Massachusetts, 1973;
Vogel Collection no. 185.

Erik K. Gronning, “Luxury of Choice: Boston’s Early Baroque Seating Furniture,” American Furniture 2018, ed. Luke Beckerdite, (Milwaukee, WI: Chipstone Foundation, 2018), figs. 71, 164, 165.

Overall fine condition. Wear commensurate with age and use. Feet of full height. Some age cracks throughout. The crestrail was cracked and reglued approximately 3" from the top across the width of the crest (approximately 10 inches). Secondary wood: oak Width: 18 1/4 in.; Depth: 19 in.
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 side chair, with its carved crest and stretcher, represents the pinnacle of the second stage of Boston’s early Baroque seating furniture.  Both the crest rail and front stretcher have arched reserves that enhance the chair’s vertical design. Boston chairmakers would make an assortment of different chairs at different price points.  This particular chair would have been at the top of the price list because it has a carved crest rail and front stretchers. The next less expensive variant exchanges the carved front stretcher for a less costly bipartite baluster stretcher (see example in collection at Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 52.77.58) in Frances Gruber Safford, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Early Colonial Period: The Seventeenth-Century and William and Mary Styles, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 76-8, no. 27).  The last option was to omit the carving entirely.  For additional information on related chairs see Erik K. Gronning, “Luxury of Choice: Boston’s Early Baroque Seating Furniture,” American Furniture 2018, ed. Luke Beckerdite, (Milwaukee, WI: Chipstone Foundation, 2018).