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Lot Essay
Originally part of a set of at least fourteen chairs, this pair of side chairs represents the superb quality of craftsmanship of renowned Newport master John Goddard (1724-1785). With expertly carved shells, refined cabinetwork and sculptural ball-and-claw feet, these chairs indicate the assured and confident workmanship of Goddard, while their molded stiles, pierced crest shells, double-scrolled splats and shaped stretchers distinguish the set as the most ornate of Goddard's oeuvre. The feet are in Goddard's signature style, with rounded and evenly spaced knuckles, avian claws, and a pronounced bulb at the top of the rear talon. The balls of the feet are proportionally wider than they are tall, a construction characteristic indicative of Goddard's hand. The seat frames and slip-seats of these chairs are numbered XII and XIII, testaments to the fastidiousness of construction in Goddard's shop. The same number for each chair is also applied to the crests, splats, shoes and rear medial rails.
This pair of chairs descended in the family of Charles Morris Smith I (b. 1838), a Rhode Island financier, and were passed down in the family home at 112 Benevolent Street in Providence until their initial sale in 1984. The original set of chairs was probably made for John Still Winthrop (1720-1776), the great-grandson of Quaker colonist Governor John Winthrop (1588-1649). A resident of New London, Connecticut, Winthrop had strong ties to nearby Newport; his sister, Mary, married Joseph Wanton (1705-1780), the last colonial governor of Rhode Island. Charles Morris Smith's grandfather, Amos Denison Smith, was a landowner in Groton, Connecticut where the Winthrop family also owned real estate.
Of the original set, four others are known. The chair similarly numbered I is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was once owned by Sarah Lyon (1774-1843) who married Aaron Fisher Dyer (1769-1822) in Newport in 1795. Another two chairs descended in the Winthrop-Folsom family and were sold in these rooms on 5 October 2000, lot 96. The fourth example was sold, Sotheby's, New York, 23 January 2011, lot 65.
This pair of chairs descended in the family of Charles Morris Smith I (b. 1838), a Rhode Island financier, and were passed down in the family home at 112 Benevolent Street in Providence until their initial sale in 1984. The original set of chairs was probably made for John Still Winthrop (1720-1776), the great-grandson of Quaker colonist Governor John Winthrop (1588-1649). A resident of New London, Connecticut, Winthrop had strong ties to nearby Newport; his sister, Mary, married Joseph Wanton (1705-1780), the last colonial governor of Rhode Island. Charles Morris Smith's grandfather, Amos Denison Smith, was a landowner in Groton, Connecticut where the Winthrop family also owned real estate.
Of the original set, four others are known. The chair similarly numbered I is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was once owned by Sarah Lyon (1774-1843) who married Aaron Fisher Dyer (1769-1822) in Newport in 1795. Another two chairs descended in the Winthrop-Folsom family and were sold in these rooms on 5 October 2000, lot 96. The fourth example was sold, Sotheby's, New York, 23 January 2011, lot 65.