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拍品專文
Few known New York classical sofas encompass the level of ornamentation and skill of carving exhibited in this example. An example of a caned sofa attributed to Duncan Phyfe, with a nearly identical crest rail and arm rests and having a pair of intertwined cornucopia on the arms and on the central crest rail panel with flanking panels having Roman fasces, is in the collection of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the United States Department of State (see Conger and Rollins, Treasures of State (New York, 1991), p. 230. Other closely related caned sofas are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a third was sold Christie's, New York, 17 June 1998, lot 249.
The example offered here is one of the only known fully-upholstered examples with the expensive detail of carved armrests. A sofa made for Governor De Witt Clinton has a similar crest rail, but is in the Sheraton style and lacks the scrolled and carved arms of this example (see V. Isabelle Miller, Furniture by New York Cabinetmakers 1650-1860 (Museum of the City of New York, 1957) p. 70. Another example, also lacking the carved panels on the armrests, is illustrated in Nancy McClelland, Duncan Phyfe and the English Regency (New York, 1939), p. 169.
With its five carved panels (three on the crest and two on the arm rests), this exceptional sofa epitomizes the best in design and carved ornament fashioned in New York in the early 19th century, and illustrates the achievement of the city's best workshops. Duncan Phyfe's was foremost among these shops, and this sofa was likely made there about 1810, just as classicism was beginning to take hold among the city's elite. It is among the very finest examples to survive from the period.
The example offered here is one of the only known fully-upholstered examples with the expensive detail of carved armrests. A sofa made for Governor De Witt Clinton has a similar crest rail, but is in the Sheraton style and lacks the scrolled and carved arms of this example (see V. Isabelle Miller, Furniture by New York Cabinetmakers 1650-1860 (Museum of the City of New York, 1957) p. 70. Another example, also lacking the carved panels on the armrests, is illustrated in Nancy McClelland, Duncan Phyfe and the English Regency (New York, 1939), p. 169.
With its five carved panels (three on the crest and two on the arm rests), this exceptional sofa epitomizes the best in design and carved ornament fashioned in New York in the early 19th century, and illustrates the achievement of the city's best workshops. Duncan Phyfe's was foremost among these shops, and this sofa was likely made there about 1810, just as classicism was beginning to take hold among the city's elite. It is among the very finest examples to survive from the period.