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拍品專文
With a restrained curvilinear design, this table demonstrates the finest of Boston furniture made during the Queen Anne era. Its elongated cabriole legs and straight rails elegantly complement the bold turret corners with adjacent ogee shaping. One of only ten turret-top tables with pad feet from Boston known to survive, this is one of only three examples under thirty inches wide. The other tables of similarly small size are the Josiah Merriam card table, sold Skinner, Inc., October 29, 1995, lot 140, now in a private collection and one illustrated in Israel Sack, American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection (New York), vol. IV, p. 1068, P3973. It exhibits an early fabric playing surface and is further distinguished by its veneered wells and candlestick rests, which are refined and costly design elements indicative of high-quality craftsmanship.
The remaining related examples include a pair with needlework playing surfaces, once owned by the Fanueil family of Boston; one was offered Christie's New York, January 21, 1994, lot 279 and now in a private collection. Its mate is now in the Bayou Bend collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and is illustrated in David Warren, et al., American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection (Houston, 1998), pp. 39-40, cat. no. F67. A third related example with "Fishing Lady" needlework playing surface and similar swing leg was once owned by Mrs. Constance Wharton Smith; it is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and is illustrated in Richard Randall, American Furniture at the Museum of Fine Arts, (Boston, pp. 110-111), cat. no. 79. A fourth table, also with a swing leg, was owned by Mercy Otis Warren and is in the collection of Pilgrim Hall and illustrated in Rose Briggs, A Catalogue of the Collections of the Pilgrim Society, cat no. 245. Another related example that descended in the family of Oliver Wendell Holmes is illustrated in Sack, vol. 2, p. 492-493, ill. 1195.
Genealogical research indicates that the Joseph Brisco referenced in the label on the inside of the drawer was born in England, and married Abigail Compton in Boston in 1650; sometime afterwards they had a son, also named Joseph. Joseph Sr. drowned on January 1, 1658 in Boston. In 1664, while living in Boston, Joseph Jr. inherited the estate of his maternal grandmother, Susannah Compton. It is unlikely that Joseph Jr. was the original owner of this table as he would have been near 80 years old or older when it was made but it could have been made for one of his descendants. The Briscoe family name appears frequently in the Boston area but there are no indications that they were one of the founding families of Taunton; however, the family may have settled there at a later date, or, as Taunton was a popular summer retreat for prominent Boston residents, it is quite possible that they maintained a part-time residence in the town. A Thomas Mair appears in the New England Historical Genealogical Register, vol. 126 (April 1972), p. 145, which references his marriage to Hannah Merriam in 1822. At present, a clear link between the Brisco family and that of Thomas Mair has not been identified.
The remaining related examples include a pair with needlework playing surfaces, once owned by the Fanueil family of Boston; one was offered Christie's New York, January 21, 1994, lot 279 and now in a private collection. Its mate is now in the Bayou Bend collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and is illustrated in David Warren, et al., American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection (Houston, 1998), pp. 39-40, cat. no. F67. A third related example with "Fishing Lady" needlework playing surface and similar swing leg was once owned by Mrs. Constance Wharton Smith; it is now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and is illustrated in Richard Randall, American Furniture at the Museum of Fine Arts, (Boston, pp. 110-111), cat. no. 79. A fourth table, also with a swing leg, was owned by Mercy Otis Warren and is in the collection of Pilgrim Hall and illustrated in Rose Briggs, A Catalogue of the Collections of the Pilgrim Society, cat no. 245. Another related example that descended in the family of Oliver Wendell Holmes is illustrated in Sack, vol. 2, p. 492-493, ill. 1195.
Genealogical research indicates that the Joseph Brisco referenced in the label on the inside of the drawer was born in England, and married Abigail Compton in Boston in 1650; sometime afterwards they had a son, also named Joseph. Joseph Sr. drowned on January 1, 1658 in Boston. In 1664, while living in Boston, Joseph Jr. inherited the estate of his maternal grandmother, Susannah Compton. It is unlikely that Joseph Jr. was the original owner of this table as he would have been near 80 years old or older when it was made but it could have been made for one of his descendants. The Briscoe family name appears frequently in the Boston area but there are no indications that they were one of the founding families of Taunton; however, the family may have settled there at a later date, or, as Taunton was a popular summer retreat for prominent Boston residents, it is quite possible that they maintained a part-time residence in the town. A Thomas Mair appears in the New England Historical Genealogical Register, vol. 126 (April 1972), p. 145, which references his marriage to Hannah Merriam in 1822. At present, a clear link between the Brisco family and that of Thomas Mair has not been identified.