Lot Essay
The bellflower inlay with interlaced stringing on this table is linked to documented furniture produced in the shop of William Whitehead (Barry A. Greenlaw, "American Furniture in Houston Collections," Antiques, vol. 114, no. 3 (September, 1979), fp. 553, pl. 14; Albert Sack, American Antiques Israel Sack Collection,
vol. 5 (1974), pp. 1254-55). A related pembroke table, with identical bellflower inlay headed by paterae, was sold at Sotheby's, New York, February 1, 1985, lot 614. Although furniture produced in Baltimore also exhibits a similar inlay pattern, the addition of the bookend inlay on this table strengthens its attribution to both New York and William Whitehead (see William Voss Elder III and Jayne E. Stokes, American Furniture 1680-1880 from the Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, 1987), pp. 147-148, fig. 112).
vol. 5 (1974), pp. 1254-55). A related pembroke table, with identical bellflower inlay headed by paterae, was sold at Sotheby's, New York, February 1, 1985, lot 614. Although furniture produced in Baltimore also exhibits a similar inlay pattern, the addition of the bookend inlay on this table strengthens its attribution to both New York and William Whitehead (see William Voss Elder III and Jayne E. Stokes, American Furniture 1680-1880 from the Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, 1987), pp. 147-148, fig. 112).