CARVING ATTRIBUTED TO SAMUEL FIELD MCINTIRE (1780-1819), SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1815

Emblazoned with a trophy celebrating maritime commerce, this pair of bellows is a testament to the acclaimed carving tradition established by Samuel McIntire (1757-1811) and refers to the underlying source of Salem's flourishing economy in the early nineteenth century. A closely related example with a trophy of war is attributed by Dean T. Lahikainen to Samuel Field McIntire (1780-1819), the renowned carver's son who worked closely with his father. Exhibiting several virtually identical devices and executed in the same manner, both bellows were almost certainly carved by the same hand. Each is framed by a gouged border, decorated with a star-punched ground and centered by an anchor with prominent cross bar and uncoiled rope, a motif probably taken from the 1762 edition of Thomas Chippendale's Director (fig. 1), a source frequently used by the elder McIntire. Furthermore, both bellows feature similarly draped flags and a closely related weapon with three prongs, identified by Lahikainen as Triton's spear, but given the theme of the trophy on the bellows offered here, may also represent Neptune's trident (Dean T. Lahikainen, Samuel McIntire: Carving an American Style (Hanover, New Hampshire, 2007), pp. 208-208, fig. 4-238). Other motifs referring to nautical trade seen on this pair of bellows include a caduceus (a symbol of commerce often mistakenly used to refer to medicine), a ton (a parcel of grain), and shipping barrels.

Further indicative of their common origin, both bellows are similarly finished with a basket-weave base headed by a studded covering with two peaks and brass termini of identical form, indicating they were supplied by the same brazier. For related bellows with carving attributed to Samuel Field McIntire, see Lahikainen, pp. 119, 164, 174, figs. 4-33, 4-144, 4-168.