Lot Essay
In its design and decoration, the chair illustrated here is an icon of Philadelphia craftsmanship. In addition to the expense implicit in its leaf and palmette-carved back and its acanthus carved knees, the luxury of these chairs lies also in their usually straight half-over upholstered seats. With a large protion of the expense of seating forms assumed by the choice of textiles and manner of upholstering, the chair illustrated here represents a particular accomplishment in its successfully flat seat above a clean, unembellished mahogany seatrail.
Based on plate XVI of the 1754 edition of Chippendale's Gentleman and Cabinetmaker's Directory, this chair was a popular form in mid-18th century Philadelphia. In addition to its similarity to a group of chairs illustrated in Horner's Blue Book of Philadelphia Furniture, pls. 335, and 362-364, as well as to a card table with identical knee carving in the collection of the Winterthur Museum (G60.1059), this chair is ultimately directly related to a sofa in the collection of the Winterthur Museum (see Downs, American Furniture: The Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods, (New York, 1952), fig. 273,and Hummel, A Winterthur Guide to American Chippendale Furniture: The Middle Atlantic and Southern Colonies, (Winterthur, 1976), p. 90, Pl. X and Xa). The Winterthur sofa, originally owned by John Dickinson, employs the same unusual straight half-over upholstered design, and an examination of the knee decoration reveals the two forms share identical carving. In addition to the Winterthur example, a similar sofa with identical knee carvingswas made by Thomas Tuft (active c. 1772-1788) for George Logan of Stenton in 1783 at a cost of L20. A second similar sofa, now at Independence Hall, was also in the Philadelphia presidential home of George Washington. The upholsterer's name, John Linton (Active C. 1780;d. 1831), is inscribed in chalk on the back of the Washington sofa, and has been associated with both the Logan and Dickson forms. Accordingly, Linton may also be the upholstere of the chair illustrated here.
A similar chair with carved seatrail sold in these Rooms, 23 January 1993, lot 562. For a related chair with carved front seatrail, see Flanigan, American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection ( New York, 1986), pp. 32-33, no. 9; see also Roque, American Furniture at Chipstone, (Madison, 1984), p. 139, fig. 60.
Based on plate XVI of the 1754 edition of Chippendale's Gentleman and Cabinetmaker's Directory, this chair was a popular form in mid-18th century Philadelphia. In addition to its similarity to a group of chairs illustrated in Horner's Blue Book of Philadelphia Furniture, pls. 335, and 362-364, as well as to a card table with identical knee carving in the collection of the Winterthur Museum (G60.1059), this chair is ultimately directly related to a sofa in the collection of the Winterthur Museum (see Downs, American Furniture: The Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods, (New York, 1952), fig. 273,and Hummel, A Winterthur Guide to American Chippendale Furniture: The Middle Atlantic and Southern Colonies, (Winterthur, 1976), p. 90, Pl. X and Xa). The Winterthur sofa, originally owned by John Dickinson, employs the same unusual straight half-over upholstered design, and an examination of the knee decoration reveals the two forms share identical carving. In addition to the Winterthur example, a similar sofa with identical knee carvingswas made by Thomas Tuft (active c. 1772-1788) for George Logan of Stenton in 1783 at a cost of L20. A second similar sofa, now at Independence Hall, was also in the Philadelphia presidential home of George Washington. The upholsterer's name, John Linton (Active C. 1780;d. 1831), is inscribed in chalk on the back of the Washington sofa, and has been associated with both the Logan and Dickson forms. Accordingly, Linton may also be the upholstere of the chair illustrated here.
A similar chair with carved seatrail sold in these Rooms, 23 January 1993, lot 562. For a related chair with carved front seatrail, see Flanigan, American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection ( New York, 1986), pp. 32-33, no. 9; see also Roque, American Furniture at Chipstone, (Madison, 1984), p. 139, fig. 60.