CARVING ATTRIBUTED TO THE "GARVAN" CARVER, PHILADELPHIA, 1755-1765

Displaying expertly rendered acanthus leaf carving on the knees, this pair of side chairs displays the work of Philadelphia's most important carver working in the 1750s and early 1760s. Highly influential and the master of his craft, this individual is known as the "Garvan" carver after the identification of his hand on a high chest in the Garvan Collection at Yale University Art Gallery. He was responsible for the introduction of much of the Rococo vocabulary that appears in Philadelphia carved ornament of the 1750s and 1760s. Hallmarks of his workmanship seen on the knee carving on these chairs include the presence of flattened leaf tips relieved with parallel gouge marks and leaf tips with a distinctive singular hook. Recent examples of his work to appear on the marketplace include the Fisher-Fox family tea table, sold Christie's New York, October 3, 2007, lot 94.