Lot Essay
A symbol of the elite merchant class of Boston, this highly-figured mahogany serpentine bombé chest of drawers represents the most elegant and expensive type of furniture produced in Boston. Six serpentine bombé chests of drawers constructed by John Cogswell's shop are known (Conger and Rollins, Treasurers of State, (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1991) no. 99); The Dietrich American Foundation, Philadelphia, on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc.L.1980.29) (Heckscher and Bowman, American Rococo, 1750-1775 (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992), no. 95, pp.144-146): the Art Institute of Chicago (acc. no. 1979.499); Collection of Julian Wood Glass, Jr., both illustrated in Sack, "The Bombé Furniture of Boston and Salem, Massachusetts," Antiques 135, no. 5 (May 1989), pls. II, XVI; a private collection.
Identical shop templates were used on all six chests of drawers to shape the curves of the case sides, drawer fronts and case-top molding profiles. The inner surfaces of the case side are cut parallel to the outer surfaces of the drawer fronts (pictured) The cove-and-ovolo base moldings were cut with the same (or very similar) planes and scratch cutters. All six chests also have drawer blades with identically angled dovetails that penetrate to within 1/8" of the outer edge of the case side (end of page one facing photo of bombé chest)
Large mahogany planks with relatively straight grain were used for the drawer fronts and case sides of this chest. Deep symmetrical shaping cuts across the grain accentuate the vibrant swirls, stripes and ovals of the wood. The dense, broken-stripe mahogany boards are similar to those chosen for the sides of Gardiner Greene's chest (pictured). (need permission/credit line).
The distinctive carved square ankle claw-and-ball feet on this chest are identical to those on the Gardiner Greene chest and a serpentine bombé desk-and-bookcase made for Edward Brinley. (Downs, American Furniture, Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952), no. 227). These feet may have been carved for Cogswell by the Skillin shop of Boston: a desk-and-bookcase commissioned by the Beverly, Massachusetts, merchant, Moses Brown (that also features a pedimental bust of Milton attributed to the Skillins' workshop) has the same carved claw-and-ball feet. (Lahvis, "The Skillin Workshop: The Emblematic Image in Federal Boston" (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Delaware, 1992)1:141-142).
While the Chinoiserie brasses are replacements, the patterns are taken from the scar markings on the drawer fronts which are identical to the Gardiner green brasses. The castings were taken directly from them. In addition, these same scar patterns indicate that this chest retained carrying handles which none of the other chests had.
According to family tradition, this magnificent chest of drawers was gifted to Marianne Theresa St. Agnau Stearns from the family of her husband, Richard Sprague Stearns. Richard Stearns may have inherited the chest of drawers from either his father, Dr. William Stearns or his mother's father, Colonel Joseph Sprague. Sprague, a Salem distiller and merchant, had extensive family and business connections in Boston and Charlestown. (For other furniture descending in the Sprague/Stearns family, see Venable, American Furniture in the Bybee Collection (Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1989), no. 28, pp. 58-63. It is the only bombé serpentine chest of drawers known with a Salem, Massachusetts history, although the Salem merchant, Elias Hasket Derby, ordered a monumental serpentine bombé chest-on-chest from John Cogswell in 1782 (Heckscher, no. 93).
Identical shop templates were used on all six chests of drawers to shape the curves of the case sides, drawer fronts and case-top molding profiles. The inner surfaces of the case side are cut parallel to the outer surfaces of the drawer fronts (pictured) The cove-and-ovolo base moldings were cut with the same (or very similar) planes and scratch cutters. All six chests also have drawer blades with identically angled dovetails that penetrate to within 1/8" of the outer edge of the case side (end of page one facing photo of bombé chest)
Large mahogany planks with relatively straight grain were used for the drawer fronts and case sides of this chest. Deep symmetrical shaping cuts across the grain accentuate the vibrant swirls, stripes and ovals of the wood. The dense, broken-stripe mahogany boards are similar to those chosen for the sides of Gardiner Greene's chest (pictured). (need permission/credit line).
The distinctive carved square ankle claw-and-ball feet on this chest are identical to those on the Gardiner Greene chest and a serpentine bombé desk-and-bookcase made for Edward Brinley. (Downs, American Furniture, Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952), no. 227). These feet may have been carved for Cogswell by the Skillin shop of Boston: a desk-and-bookcase commissioned by the Beverly, Massachusetts, merchant, Moses Brown (that also features a pedimental bust of Milton attributed to the Skillins' workshop) has the same carved claw-and-ball feet. (Lahvis, "The Skillin Workshop: The Emblematic Image in Federal Boston" (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Delaware, 1992)1:141-142).
While the Chinoiserie brasses are replacements, the patterns are taken from the scar markings on the drawer fronts which are identical to the Gardiner green brasses. The castings were taken directly from them. In addition, these same scar patterns indicate that this chest retained carrying handles which none of the other chests had.
According to family tradition, this magnificent chest of drawers was gifted to Marianne Theresa St. Agnau Stearns from the family of her husband, Richard Sprague Stearns. Richard Stearns may have inherited the chest of drawers from either his father, Dr. William Stearns or his mother's father, Colonel Joseph Sprague. Sprague, a Salem distiller and merchant, had extensive family and business connections in Boston and Charlestown. (For other furniture descending in the Sprague/Stearns family, see Venable, American Furniture in the Bybee Collection (Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1989), no. 28, pp. 58-63. It is the only bombé serpentine chest of drawers known with a Salem, Massachusetts history, although the Salem merchant, Elias Hasket Derby, ordered a monumental serpentine bombé chest-on-chest from John Cogswell in 1782 (Heckscher, no. 93).