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拍品专文
Portsmouth furniture in the early nineteenth century is characterized by dramatic veneers and the use of visually contrasting flame-birch, maple and rosewood, in addition to imported mahogany. In this example, the bold veneers provide a striking contrast with what appear to be the original ivory pulls.
This chest of drawers features a full dustboard behind the middle drawer divider as well as large triangular blocks behind the rear feet. A closely related chest, also with a single full dustboard and ivory escutcheons, is in the collection of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and is illustrated in Brock Jobe Portsmouth Furniture, Masterworks from the New Hampshire Seacoast (Boston, 1993) pp. 114-115, cat. no. 11. Other design elements characteristic of Portsmouth include the large rectangular drop panel and the spurred returns on the feet. A second related example, also attributed to Portsmouth, is illustrated in David Warren, American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Houston, 1998), pp. 116-117, cat. no. F188.
The use of maple for the top and sides of the case, instead of the more conventional mahogany, is unusual but not without precedent; other chests from Portsmouth made with locally available hardwoods include two chests, illustrated in Jobe (figs. 11a and 11b).
This chest of drawers features a full dustboard behind the middle drawer divider as well as large triangular blocks behind the rear feet. A closely related chest, also with a single full dustboard and ivory escutcheons, is in the collection of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities and is illustrated in Brock Jobe Portsmouth Furniture, Masterworks from the New Hampshire Seacoast (Boston, 1993) pp. 114-115, cat. no. 11. Other design elements characteristic of Portsmouth include the large rectangular drop panel and the spurred returns on the feet. A second related example, also attributed to Portsmouth, is illustrated in David Warren, American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Houston, 1998), pp. 116-117, cat. no. F188.
The use of maple for the top and sides of the case, instead of the more conventional mahogany, is unusual but not without precedent; other chests from Portsmouth made with locally available hardwoods include two chests, illustrated in Jobe (figs. 11a and 11b).