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Lot Essay
Distinguished by its boldly executed half-turnings, inset geometric plaques and shaped foot brackets, this chest-with-drawer is closely related to the output of a significant, though unidentified, shop working in Northern Essex County, Massachusetts during the late seventeenth century. As most recently examined by Robert F. Trent, Peter Follansbee and Alan Miller, this shop was most likely based in Ipswich or Newbury and in addition to English and Boston traditions, was heavily influenced by French joinery of the previous century. The surviving known products of this shop comprise a number of forms of varying degrees of elaboration. The most notable are its court cupboards and chests-of-drawers that are richly embellished with half-turnings of unusual complexity and variation. Like many of the turnings found on the furniture made by this shop, those on this chest each display a main bulbous body with inset ring, headed and footed by multiple ring and compressed ball elements. Similar geometric panels with inset plaques incised with dates and/or owners' initials appear on several examples from the group made by this shop and at least two of the shop's chests-of-drawers display foot brackets of almost identical profiles.
Differences between the details on this chest and those on the Northern Essex County shop, however, suggest that while probably based locally, the maker of this chest was working outside of this shop. With the swell of the main body of the turnings placed below, the position of the turnings on this chest is inverted to that used by this shop. Furthermore, the uppermost elements on this chest's turnings are flattened balls, whereas those on the shop's work are invariably headed with finials with a severe taper and ball. Finally, the turnings on the muntins on this chest are scaled-down versions of those on the stiles, a practice that contrasts with this shop's predilection for using a different design for each hierarchical position within the same object.
For a discussion of this shop, see Robert F. Trent, Peter Follansbee, and Alan Miller, "First Flowers of the Wilderness: Mannerist Furniture from a Northern Essex County, Massachusetts, Shop," American Furniture 2001, Luke Beckerdite, ed. (Milwaukee, 2001), pp. 1-64. See especially, figs. 16, 17, 27, 30, 31, 34, 40, 47, 53. Furniture from this shop was first discussed as a group by Irving P. Lyon, who mis-attributed many of the pieces to Ipswich joiner Thomas Dennis. See Irving P. Lyon, "The Oak Furniture of Ipswich, Massachusetts," Parts IV and V, The Magazine Antiques (April and June 1938), reprinted in Robert F. Trent, ed. Pilgrim Century Furniture: An Historical Survey (New York, 1976), pp. 66-75.
Christie's would like to thank Robert F. Trent for his assistance with this essay.
Differences between the details on this chest and those on the Northern Essex County shop, however, suggest that while probably based locally, the maker of this chest was working outside of this shop. With the swell of the main body of the turnings placed below, the position of the turnings on this chest is inverted to that used by this shop. Furthermore, the uppermost elements on this chest's turnings are flattened balls, whereas those on the shop's work are invariably headed with finials with a severe taper and ball. Finally, the turnings on the muntins on this chest are scaled-down versions of those on the stiles, a practice that contrasts with this shop's predilection for using a different design for each hierarchical position within the same object.
For a discussion of this shop, see Robert F. Trent, Peter Follansbee, and Alan Miller, "First Flowers of the Wilderness: Mannerist Furniture from a Northern Essex County, Massachusetts, Shop," American Furniture 2001, Luke Beckerdite, ed. (Milwaukee, 2001), pp. 1-64. See especially, figs. 16, 17, 27, 30, 31, 34, 40, 47, 53. Furniture from this shop was first discussed as a group by Irving P. Lyon, who mis-attributed many of the pieces to Ipswich joiner Thomas Dennis. See Irving P. Lyon, "The Oak Furniture of Ipswich, Massachusetts," Parts IV and V, The Magazine Antiques (April and June 1938), reprinted in Robert F. Trent, ed. Pilgrim Century Furniture: An Historical Survey (New York, 1976), pp. 66-75.
Christie's would like to thank Robert F. Trent for his assistance with this essay.