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Lot Essay
Their virtually untouched old surfaces adorned by Philadelphia's preeminent eighteenth-century carver, these side chairs are masterpieces of American rococo furniture. Sculptural and fluid, the carved ornament is attributed to John Pollard (1740-1787) based upon its similarity in motifs and execution to other works attributed to his hand, including the renowned commode-seat chairs made for John Cadwalader (1742-1786). The Cadwalader chairs have been ascribed to Benjamin Randolph's shop as, in addition to other evidence, their carving is by the same craftsman who embellished the knees on a labeled Randolph chair; and, as Pollard was the principal carver in Randolph's shop at the time of the commission of the Cadwalader chairs, he is assumed to be the individual responsible for their superbly executed decoration (Leroy Graves and Luke Beckerdite, "New Insights on John Cadwalader's Commode-Seat Side Chairs," American Furniture 2000, Luke Beckerdite, ed. (Milwaukee, WI: The Chipstone Foundation, 2000), pp. 153, 156).
Pollard is thought to have carved the ornament on other celebrated forms from eighteenth-century Philadelphia, including a suite of furniture made for David Deshler (fig. 1), a set of chairs made for Charles Thomson and the scallop-top tea tables made for the Eyre and Biddle families (a Thomson side chair is in The Chipstone Foundation, see Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque, American Furniture at Chipstone (Madison, WI, 1984), cat. 63, pp. 144-145; the tables sold Christie's New York, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Britton, January 16, 1999, lot 592 and January 18-19, 2001, lot 119). Long known as "the Deshler carver," Pollard used the same pattern for the chair backs on the Deshler suite and these examples from the Blair Collection. The splats are based on pl. XIII of the 1754 and 1755 editions of Chippendale's Director (pl. X of the 1762 edition) and both employ an identical pierced Gothic design, with creased arches above a trefoil, as well as rococo embellishments that differ only in the smallest of details, such as the presence of horizontal ridges running down the middle of the pendant leaf cluster, seen on these chairs. Characterized by a depth of carving with minimal use of surface veining, Pollard's work often incorporates recurring details of design, such as pendant beads with an S-curved flourish or tail as seen in the center of the splats on these chairs. Almost identical motifs appear not only on the splats of the Deshler chairs, but on the crests of the Thomson chairs and knees of the Biddle family table; furthermore, similar pendant beads minus the tail adorn the knees of the Cadwalader chairs and legs of the Eyre family table. Another refined detail is the carving of the shoes, with the gadrooning along the front edge subtly blending into a cluster of acanthus leaves at each corner. A similar treatment is seen on the shoes of the Cadwalader chairs.
Trained in London, John Pollard first appears in Philadelphia in 1765, when Benjamin Randolph recorded a payment for Pollard's rent in his receipt book. Along with Hercules Courtenay, Pollard worked in Randolph's shop during the late 1760s and by 1773, he had set up his own business in partnership with Richard Butts (Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art (Philadelphia, 1976), p. 114). These chairs may have been made in Randolph's shop, but surviving chairs labeled by Randolph display a variety of construction practices and do not present a clear model for comparative purposes. Notable construction features on these chairs include the seating of the splat in the shoe, unpinned joints between the front and side rails and front legs, double-pinned joints between the side and rear rails and stiles, blind tenons and blocks applied to the inside of the rear rail to support the rear glueblocks. Both through and blind tenons, as well as unpinned and pinned front joints, appear on chairs labeled by Randolph (see Philip D. Zimmerman, "Labeled Randolph Chairs Rediscovered," American Furniture 1998, Luke Beckerdite, ed. (Milwaukee, WI: The Chipstone Foundation, 1998), pp. 82, 88, figs. 1, 10; Patricia E. Kane, 300 Years of Seating Furniture (Boston, 1976), pp. 128-129, cat. 108).
Sharing an identical combination of designs, these chairs were undoubtedly from the same set as two illustrated in Hornor (fig. 2). As suggested by Hornor's captions as well as the ownership of one by Richard Wistar Harvey, these chairs descended in the Wistar family (William MacPherson Hornor, Jr., Blue Book Philadelphia Furniture (1935), pls. 356 and 357; the extra carving on the skirt of pl. 356 appears to be a later embellishment). The chairs offered here are marked on the inside of their rear seat rails, V and II and retain slip-seats marked V and I from the original set. A pair of chairs in a private collection, which do not appear to replicate those illustrated in Hornor, are similarly marked IIII and VII, suggesting that the original set included at least eight chairs. Furthermore, a single side chair, which may replicate one of the above or represent another example from the same set, was formerly owned by Katrina Kipper and recorded in the Decorative Arts Photographic Collection at Winterthur Museum (DAPC 66.1346).
As shown in a December, 1932 photograph, the chairs were displayed in "Mrs. Blair's bedroom" at Blairhame, with one placed at the foot of the bed (see Introduction, fig. 14). After Blairhame was closed down, the chairs were placed in the new annex in Room I (1943 inventory).
Pollard is thought to have carved the ornament on other celebrated forms from eighteenth-century Philadelphia, including a suite of furniture made for David Deshler (fig. 1), a set of chairs made for Charles Thomson and the scallop-top tea tables made for the Eyre and Biddle families (a Thomson side chair is in The Chipstone Foundation, see Oswaldo Rodriguez Roque, American Furniture at Chipstone (Madison, WI, 1984), cat. 63, pp. 144-145; the tables sold Christie's New York, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Britton, January 16, 1999, lot 592 and January 18-19, 2001, lot 119). Long known as "the Deshler carver," Pollard used the same pattern for the chair backs on the Deshler suite and these examples from the Blair Collection. The splats are based on pl. XIII of the 1754 and 1755 editions of Chippendale's Director (pl. X of the 1762 edition) and both employ an identical pierced Gothic design, with creased arches above a trefoil, as well as rococo embellishments that differ only in the smallest of details, such as the presence of horizontal ridges running down the middle of the pendant leaf cluster, seen on these chairs. Characterized by a depth of carving with minimal use of surface veining, Pollard's work often incorporates recurring details of design, such as pendant beads with an S-curved flourish or tail as seen in the center of the splats on these chairs. Almost identical motifs appear not only on the splats of the Deshler chairs, but on the crests of the Thomson chairs and knees of the Biddle family table; furthermore, similar pendant beads minus the tail adorn the knees of the Cadwalader chairs and legs of the Eyre family table. Another refined detail is the carving of the shoes, with the gadrooning along the front edge subtly blending into a cluster of acanthus leaves at each corner. A similar treatment is seen on the shoes of the Cadwalader chairs.
Trained in London, John Pollard first appears in Philadelphia in 1765, when Benjamin Randolph recorded a payment for Pollard's rent in his receipt book. Along with Hercules Courtenay, Pollard worked in Randolph's shop during the late 1760s and by 1773, he had set up his own business in partnership with Richard Butts (Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art (Philadelphia, 1976), p. 114). These chairs may have been made in Randolph's shop, but surviving chairs labeled by Randolph display a variety of construction practices and do not present a clear model for comparative purposes. Notable construction features on these chairs include the seating of the splat in the shoe, unpinned joints between the front and side rails and front legs, double-pinned joints between the side and rear rails and stiles, blind tenons and blocks applied to the inside of the rear rail to support the rear glueblocks. Both through and blind tenons, as well as unpinned and pinned front joints, appear on chairs labeled by Randolph (see Philip D. Zimmerman, "Labeled Randolph Chairs Rediscovered," American Furniture 1998, Luke Beckerdite, ed. (Milwaukee, WI: The Chipstone Foundation, 1998), pp. 82, 88, figs. 1, 10; Patricia E. Kane, 300 Years of Seating Furniture (Boston, 1976), pp. 128-129, cat. 108).
Sharing an identical combination of designs, these chairs were undoubtedly from the same set as two illustrated in Hornor (fig. 2). As suggested by Hornor's captions as well as the ownership of one by Richard Wistar Harvey, these chairs descended in the Wistar family (William MacPherson Hornor, Jr., Blue Book Philadelphia Furniture (1935), pls. 356 and 357; the extra carving on the skirt of pl. 356 appears to be a later embellishment). The chairs offered here are marked on the inside of their rear seat rails, V and II and retain slip-seats marked V and I from the original set. A pair of chairs in a private collection, which do not appear to replicate those illustrated in Hornor, are similarly marked IIII and VII, suggesting that the original set included at least eight chairs. Furthermore, a single side chair, which may replicate one of the above or represent another example from the same set, was formerly owned by Katrina Kipper and recorded in the Decorative Arts Photographic Collection at Winterthur Museum (DAPC 66.1346).
As shown in a December, 1932 photograph, the chairs were displayed in "Mrs. Blair's bedroom" at Blairhame, with one placed at the foot of the bed (see Introduction, fig. 14). After Blairhame was closed down, the chairs were placed in the new annex in Room I (1943 inventory).