Lot Essay
One of the most distinctive regional interpretations of a form is realized in the idiosyncratic combination of motifs on this dressing table. The double carved shell, stop-fluted pilasters, intricate skirt and carved slender legs that embellish this table have become synonymous with the creative spirit associated with furniture produced in the seaport community of eighteenth-century Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
The design origins of this example lie in the Boston blockfront furniture of Job Coit and his apprentice, Joseph Davis. Davis is recorded as an apprentice in Coit's cabinet shop as early as 1726 and remained in Boston until 1733 when he move to Portsmouth. Although he left Boston, Coit and his Job Coit, Jr., made the earliest dated blockfront case piece in the colonies in 1738, Davis possibly witnessed and assisted in experiments with the blockfront as well as other high style forms (Jobe, ed., Portsmouth Furniture (SPNEA, 1993), p. 128; Lovell, 'Boston Blockfront Furniture,' Boston Furniture (Charlottesville, 1974), fig. 62).
Davis worked in Portsmouth until 1762 when he moved to Newbury, Massachusetts. A veneered high chest and a blockfront dressing table bear the chalk inscription of his name, and based upon the construction and design of these two pieces other Portsmouth furniture is attributed to his hand (Jobe, figs. 28, 29; Jobe, 'An Introduction to Portsmouth Furniture,' Old Time New England 72 (SPNEA, 1987), pp. 163-195).
This dressing table represents a bridge between the work of Joseph Davis and a yet unidentified craftsman. The cabinetmaker who made this table trained in Davis' shop and was familiar with this construction techniques and design elements. Charged with that knowledge and skill he crafted a group of furniture comprised of four other dressing tables, eight high chests and one chest-on-chest with this table as the pivotal object between the work of his master and the fruition of a new design aesthetic (Jobe, no. 19, 20).
Like the Davis blockfront dressing tables, this example is made of walnut and has a thin two-board top molded on all four sides which is pinned to the frame; the frame is mortise-and-tenoned without pins to secure the joints; the legs are made of several pieces stock (only the rear legs in this instance); the drawer sides measure 1/2" in thickness and the tops are cut with a distinctive one-sided arched bead; the dovetails are large and well-defined; the drawer supports are tenoned into the back of the case and set into slots in the case front; it also shares stop-fluted columns, an arched skirt, carved shell, carved knees, and thin cabriole legs with creased pad feet. This example differs from the Davis tables in the respect that the facade is veneered rather than blocked, although the double beading along the drawer dividers is retained; the pilasters are glued to the stiles like on the Davis tables but are additionally nailed in place; the pilasters only partially cover the stiles and the fluting extends to the top rather than stops partway; the shell is carved from the solid walnut skirt rather than backed with another block as in the Davis tables; the knee carving is scalloped rather than delineated as leafage; the legs have less of an exaggerated S-curve and the ankles are slightly thicker with cove disks beneath the feet rather than pads.
This well-preserved dressing table with its original brass punched hardware holds a distinguished place within the evolution of Portsmouth area fashion and the local cabinet tradition. Possibly the only table from this group made in Portsmouth before the craftsman moved to Dover, the later dressing tables derived from this one are constructed in a virtually identical manner but are simpler in design and lack the veneered facade and double top drawer, share a gothic arch skirt pattern different from this table, and have thicker unadorned legs but retain the cove disk under the foot (Jobe, nos. 17, 18, 19).
The design origins of this example lie in the Boston blockfront furniture of Job Coit and his apprentice, Joseph Davis. Davis is recorded as an apprentice in Coit's cabinet shop as early as 1726 and remained in Boston until 1733 when he move to Portsmouth. Although he left Boston, Coit and his Job Coit, Jr., made the earliest dated blockfront case piece in the colonies in 1738, Davis possibly witnessed and assisted in experiments with the blockfront as well as other high style forms (Jobe, ed., Portsmouth Furniture (SPNEA, 1993), p. 128; Lovell, 'Boston Blockfront Furniture,' Boston Furniture (Charlottesville, 1974), fig. 62).
Davis worked in Portsmouth until 1762 when he moved to Newbury, Massachusetts. A veneered high chest and a blockfront dressing table bear the chalk inscription of his name, and based upon the construction and design of these two pieces other Portsmouth furniture is attributed to his hand (Jobe, figs. 28, 29; Jobe, 'An Introduction to Portsmouth Furniture,' Old Time New England 72 (SPNEA, 1987), pp. 163-195).
This dressing table represents a bridge between the work of Joseph Davis and a yet unidentified craftsman. The cabinetmaker who made this table trained in Davis' shop and was familiar with this construction techniques and design elements. Charged with that knowledge and skill he crafted a group of furniture comprised of four other dressing tables, eight high chests and one chest-on-chest with this table as the pivotal object between the work of his master and the fruition of a new design aesthetic (Jobe, no. 19, 20).
Like the Davis blockfront dressing tables, this example is made of walnut and has a thin two-board top molded on all four sides which is pinned to the frame; the frame is mortise-and-tenoned without pins to secure the joints; the legs are made of several pieces stock (only the rear legs in this instance); the drawer sides measure 1/2" in thickness and the tops are cut with a distinctive one-sided arched bead; the dovetails are large and well-defined; the drawer supports are tenoned into the back of the case and set into slots in the case front; it also shares stop-fluted columns, an arched skirt, carved shell, carved knees, and thin cabriole legs with creased pad feet. This example differs from the Davis tables in the respect that the facade is veneered rather than blocked, although the double beading along the drawer dividers is retained; the pilasters are glued to the stiles like on the Davis tables but are additionally nailed in place; the pilasters only partially cover the stiles and the fluting extends to the top rather than stops partway; the shell is carved from the solid walnut skirt rather than backed with another block as in the Davis tables; the knee carving is scalloped rather than delineated as leafage; the legs have less of an exaggerated S-curve and the ankles are slightly thicker with cove disks beneath the feet rather than pads.
This well-preserved dressing table with its original brass punched hardware holds a distinguished place within the evolution of Portsmouth area fashion and the local cabinet tradition. Possibly the only table from this group made in Portsmouth before the craftsman moved to Dover, the later dressing tables derived from this one are constructed in a virtually identical manner but are simpler in design and lack the veneered facade and double top drawer, share a gothic arch skirt pattern different from this table, and have thicker unadorned legs but retain the cove disk under the foot (Jobe, nos. 17, 18, 19).