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拍品專文
This bombé chest-of-drawers is a very fine example of eighteenth-century Massachusetts' most celebrated furniture designs, probably made in either Boston or Salem. Elements linking these various pieces include a visible rail below the bottom drawer, similar base moldings, and the same profile of the pendant drop. In some bombé examples, the swelling of the case begins abruptly at the top of the third drawer; other bombé chests demonstrate a more successful integration of proportions, with the curve beginning at the bottom of the second drawer, as in the example offered here.
A construction feature that distinguishes this bombé from others is the treatment of the sides of the interior of the case and of the drawers. The interior of the case is carved out and follows the swell of the bombé; the drawers are constructed in such a way as to also correspond to the curve of the case sides. This treatment is more sophisticated than the less complicated alternative method, which was to square the inner sides of the case, which not only revealed the full thickness of the case sides, but also made it possible for the cabinetmaker to make drawers at right angles rather than curved.
While this bombé chest demonstrates construction and design elements characteristic of both Boston and Salem, certain features suggest that it was likely made in Salem. These include the presence of a rail between the top and the top drawer, the grain of the drawer bottoms runs side-to-side, the lack of a giant dovetail joining the bottom molding to the front of the case and the presence of a drop pendant.
The pendant drop lacks the bold three-dimensional shell-carving typically found on case pieces linked to Salem but is not without precedent in the Salem area and can be found on several pieces attributed to Northeastern Massachusetts. Some examples of this can be seen on a desk-and-bookcase in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at Yale, illustrated in Gerald Ward, American Case Furniture in the Mabel Brady Garvan and Other Collections at Yale University (New Haven, 1988), pp. 333-335, cat. No. 174; a Chest-on-Chest, also at Yale, features the similar drop and is attributed to North Shore Massachusetts (Ward, ibid., pp. 167-168, cat. no. 79). A desk-and-bookcase, attributed to Eastern Massachusetts, is in the collection of Winterthur Museum and is illustrated in Evans and Richards, New England Furniture at Winterthur, Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (Delaware, 1997), pp. 429-430, cat. no. 204.
The close similarities between this chest and those made in Boston underscores the importance of the relationship between these two communities, while the pristine condition of the base, specifically the feet, knee blocks and pendant drop, provide a clear record of eighteenth century cabinetmaking practices.
A construction feature that distinguishes this bombé from others is the treatment of the sides of the interior of the case and of the drawers. The interior of the case is carved out and follows the swell of the bombé; the drawers are constructed in such a way as to also correspond to the curve of the case sides. This treatment is more sophisticated than the less complicated alternative method, which was to square the inner sides of the case, which not only revealed the full thickness of the case sides, but also made it possible for the cabinetmaker to make drawers at right angles rather than curved.
While this bombé chest demonstrates construction and design elements characteristic of both Boston and Salem, certain features suggest that it was likely made in Salem. These include the presence of a rail between the top and the top drawer, the grain of the drawer bottoms runs side-to-side, the lack of a giant dovetail joining the bottom molding to the front of the case and the presence of a drop pendant.
The pendant drop lacks the bold three-dimensional shell-carving typically found on case pieces linked to Salem but is not without precedent in the Salem area and can be found on several pieces attributed to Northeastern Massachusetts. Some examples of this can be seen on a desk-and-bookcase in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at Yale, illustrated in Gerald Ward, American Case Furniture in the Mabel Brady Garvan and Other Collections at Yale University (New Haven, 1988), pp. 333-335, cat. No. 174; a Chest-on-Chest, also at Yale, features the similar drop and is attributed to North Shore Massachusetts (Ward, ibid., pp. 167-168, cat. no. 79). A desk-and-bookcase, attributed to Eastern Massachusetts, is in the collection of Winterthur Museum and is illustrated in Evans and Richards, New England Furniture at Winterthur, Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (Delaware, 1997), pp. 429-430, cat. no. 204.
The close similarities between this chest and those made in Boston underscores the importance of the relationship between these two communities, while the pristine condition of the base, specifically the feet, knee blocks and pendant drop, provide a clear record of eighteenth century cabinetmaking practices.