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Lot Essay
Representing one of the most successful collaborative efforts and combining form and function, this superlative example of Federal painted furniture demonstrates the masterful craftsmanship of the Seymour shop as well as the superb decorative talents of John Ritto Penniman. It relates to a small group of similarly painted work-tables, nearly all attributed to the Seymours and Penniman but is the only example to incorporate the distinctive painted pilasters at the tops of the legs. Related tables include one with rectangular top and paint decoration on all sides that descended in the Holbrook-Vincent-Dexter family of Boston and is illustrated in Israel Sack, vol. VI, pp. 42-43. Two other comparable examples are illustrated in Israel Sack, vol. III, p. 719, and one sold Christie's New York, January 1997, lot 284.
An attribution to Penniman is based upon close similarities between this example and a work table, also attributed to the Seymours and Penniman, and illustrated in Robert Mussey The Furniture Masterworks of John & Thomas Seymour, (Salem, 2003) cat. no. 90, pp. 314-315. Documented examples of Penniman's work include a tall-case clock with the back of the dial signed John R. Pennimen No 1, formerly from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Britton and illustrated in The Magazine Antiques (September, 1975), pp. 998-1000. Penniman, whose studio was located in Thomas Seymour's Boston warehouse between 1809 and 1811, collaborated with Seymour on an elaborate demilune commode commissioned by Elizabeth Derby (currently in the Karolik collection at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and illustrated in Vernon Stoneman John and Thomas Seymour, Cabinetmakers in Boston 1794-1816, Boston, 1959, plate 157 and 159); the extant bill of sale for this commode itemizes Penniman's contributions thusly: Paid Mr. Pennimans Bill for Painting Shells on Top of Do...$10.00.
With regard to this example, the attribution to the Seymour shop is based upon the construction of the table and drawers, as well as the presence of a tool mark, located on the interior pin-cushion frame. According to Robert Mussey, this mark, comprised of a centermark surrounded by an incised circle and matching the diameter of the lunette inlay, is virtually synonymous with the Seymour shop and indicates, among other things, that the Seymours made their own inlay rather than importing it from England.
An attribution to Penniman is based upon close similarities between this example and a work table, also attributed to the Seymours and Penniman, and illustrated in Robert Mussey The Furniture Masterworks of John & Thomas Seymour, (Salem, 2003) cat. no. 90, pp. 314-315. Documented examples of Penniman's work include a tall-case clock with the back of the dial signed John R. Pennimen No 1, formerly from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Britton and illustrated in The Magazine Antiques (September, 1975), pp. 998-1000. Penniman, whose studio was located in Thomas Seymour's Boston warehouse between 1809 and 1811, collaborated with Seymour on an elaborate demilune commode commissioned by Elizabeth Derby (currently in the Karolik collection at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and illustrated in Vernon Stoneman John and Thomas Seymour, Cabinetmakers in Boston 1794-1816, Boston, 1959, plate 157 and 159); the extant bill of sale for this commode itemizes Penniman's contributions thusly: Paid Mr. Pennimans Bill for Painting Shells on Top of Do...$10.00.
With regard to this example, the attribution to the Seymour shop is based upon the construction of the table and drawers, as well as the presence of a tool mark, located on the interior pin-cushion frame. According to Robert Mussey, this mark, comprised of a centermark surrounded by an incised circle and matching the diameter of the lunette inlay, is virtually synonymous with the Seymour shop and indicates, among other things, that the Seymours made their own inlay rather than importing it from England.