ATTRIBUTED TO DUNCAN PHYFE (1768-1854), NEW YORK, CIRCA 1815

Details

A CLASSICAL CARVED AND ORMOLU-MOUNTED ROSEWOOD CELLARET
ATTRIBUTED TO DUNCAN PHYFE (1768-1854), NEW YORK, CIRCA 1815
26 in. high, 23 in. wide, 23 in. deep

Provenance

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Phinizy, Augusta, Georgia
Mary Lou Phinizy, daughter, until 1977
Mr. Inman Mays, nephew, until 1985
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 1985-1987
Private collection, 1987-1992
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 1992

Literature

Tom Armstrong, Amy Coes, Ella Foshay, and Wendell Garrett, An American Odyssey: The Warner Collection of Fine and Decorative Arts (New York, 2001), p. 203.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Lot Essay

A form that gained popularity in the early nineteenth century when dining rooms became increasingly prevalent, the cellaret was used to store bottles brought up from the cellar during meals. They were often made en suite with sideboards and stored under the central portion of the sideboard. The inside of the subject cellaret is divided into four caddies to hold upright bottles and also includes concave channels around the perimeter to hold bottles. An extremely similar cellaret with similarly shaped case and four front facing lion's paw feet is said to have been made by Phyfe for his own home. This piece descended in his family and is illustrated in Peter M. Kenny and Michael K, Brown, Duncan Phyfe: Master Cabinetmaker in New York (New York, 2011), pp. 195-197, pl. 24. Another similar example en suite with a sideboard and also attributed to Phyfe was sold Christie's, New York, 3 October 2007, lot 121. A third related example is in the collection of Bayou Bend (B.67.31).

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