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Lot Essay
A rural New England masterpiece, this high chest-of-drawers demonstrates the sophistication and technical mastery of its maker and with an old surface, finials and brasses, is one of the most complete examples of the form to survive from eighteenth-century America. The carved designs on the rosettes, shells and feet reflect a close affinity with furniture made in late eighteenth-century Colchester, Connecticut and it is very likely that the cabinetmaker trained in this area. Details in the execution of the ornament and interior case construction reveal similarities to the work of Calvin Willey (1769-after 1831) who was born near Colchester and later relocated to Lenox, Massachusetts, and it is possible that this high chest represents one of the most elaborate survivals from his shop.
The vocabulary of ornament and its distinctive treatment closely related to a group of Colchester-area furniture termed the "Lord" group by Thomas P. Kugelman, Alice K. Kugelman and Robert Lionetti in their recent study of Connecticut cabinetmaking. Details that are seen in this group and on the high chest offered here include a highly arched and dentil-molded pediment, fylfot-carved rosettes, a radiating shell with incised border, hocked rear legs and flattened ball-and-claw feet with deep webbing. These details are evident on the signature example from the Lord group, the high chest in fig. 3, which descended from the Lord family of Colchester. On the high chest offered here, the chest in fig. 3 and other Lord group pieces, the articulation of the tendons extends up the legs. The chest offered here has the added refinement of front cabriole legs with a distinctive hock midway between ankle and knee, a feature not apparent on any of the published examples. Also relating to this group is the saddle-shaping of the top of the backboard enclosing the bonnet (Thomas P. Kugelman and Alice K. Kugelman with Robert Lionetti, Connecticut Valley Furniture: Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries, 1750-1800 (Hanover, New Hampshire, 2005), pp. 210-205, 210-230, cats. 94-103).
Despite these similarities to the Lord group, this high chest displays additional decorative and construction details that suggest the hand of Calvin Willey. As noted by Kugelman, Kugelman and Lionetti, the Lord and Willey groups are very closely related and Willey, born just south of Colchester in East Haddam, undoubtedly trained in a shop responsible for some of the furniture in the Lord group. Furniture attributed to or possibly by Willey includes several case pieces from his years in Lenox, from 1791 to 1795, as well as a desk-and-bookcase that may have been made by the cabinetmaker in the Colchester area before he relocated. Like the Lord group, the Willey pieces have a backboard with upper saddle shaping, steeping arched pediments sometimes with dentil molding, fylfot rosettes and similar ball-and-claw feet (figs. 1, 2). Further supporting the Willey attribution is the rendition of the upper shell. With radiating lobes, each partially relieved with an incised dot and line, and an incised figure-of-eight border, each void double punched, the upper shell on this high chest is virtually identical to one on a desk attributed to Willey during his Lenox period and closely related to those on a high chest, also probably from Willey's time in Lenox and a desk-and-bookcase possibly made by Willey in the Colchester area (Kugelman, Kugelman and Lionetti, pp. 244, 248-251, cats. 109, 112, 113). Crucial differences between the Lord and Willey groups comprise the joining of the upper backboards and drawer runners. While those on the Lord group are set in grooves, those on the Willey group are nailed, like those on the high chest offered here. The only characteristic on this high chest that has been noted to be distinctive to the Lord group is the extension of the tendon shaping up the front legs. Given the closeness of the shell carving, it is possible that the high chest offered here, an elaborately ornamented form, is an exceptional survival from Willey's shop and thus displays features not previously seen in his oeuvre (see also Kugelman, Kugelman and Lionetti, pp. 210-211, 240-241).
The vocabulary of ornament and its distinctive treatment closely related to a group of Colchester-area furniture termed the "Lord" group by Thomas P. Kugelman, Alice K. Kugelman and Robert Lionetti in their recent study of Connecticut cabinetmaking. Details that are seen in this group and on the high chest offered here include a highly arched and dentil-molded pediment, fylfot-carved rosettes, a radiating shell with incised border, hocked rear legs and flattened ball-and-claw feet with deep webbing. These details are evident on the signature example from the Lord group, the high chest in fig. 3, which descended from the Lord family of Colchester. On the high chest offered here, the chest in fig. 3 and other Lord group pieces, the articulation of the tendons extends up the legs. The chest offered here has the added refinement of front cabriole legs with a distinctive hock midway between ankle and knee, a feature not apparent on any of the published examples. Also relating to this group is the saddle-shaping of the top of the backboard enclosing the bonnet (Thomas P. Kugelman and Alice K. Kugelman with Robert Lionetti, Connecticut Valley Furniture: Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries, 1750-1800 (Hanover, New Hampshire, 2005), pp. 210-205, 210-230, cats. 94-103).
Despite these similarities to the Lord group, this high chest displays additional decorative and construction details that suggest the hand of Calvin Willey. As noted by Kugelman, Kugelman and Lionetti, the Lord and Willey groups are very closely related and Willey, born just south of Colchester in East Haddam, undoubtedly trained in a shop responsible for some of the furniture in the Lord group. Furniture attributed to or possibly by Willey includes several case pieces from his years in Lenox, from 1791 to 1795, as well as a desk-and-bookcase that may have been made by the cabinetmaker in the Colchester area before he relocated. Like the Lord group, the Willey pieces have a backboard with upper saddle shaping, steeping arched pediments sometimes with dentil molding, fylfot rosettes and similar ball-and-claw feet (figs. 1, 2). Further supporting the Willey attribution is the rendition of the upper shell. With radiating lobes, each partially relieved with an incised dot and line, and an incised figure-of-eight border, each void double punched, the upper shell on this high chest is virtually identical to one on a desk attributed to Willey during his Lenox period and closely related to those on a high chest, also probably from Willey's time in Lenox and a desk-and-bookcase possibly made by Willey in the Colchester area (Kugelman, Kugelman and Lionetti, pp. 244, 248-251, cats. 109, 112, 113). Crucial differences between the Lord and Willey groups comprise the joining of the upper backboards and drawer runners. While those on the Lord group are set in grooves, those on the Willey group are nailed, like those on the high chest offered here. The only characteristic on this high chest that has been noted to be distinctive to the Lord group is the extension of the tendon shaping up the front legs. Given the closeness of the shell carving, it is possible that the high chest offered here, an elaborately ornamented form, is an exceptional survival from Willey's shop and thus displays features not previously seen in his oeuvre (see also Kugelman, Kugelman and Lionetti, pp. 210-211, 240-241).