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拍品專文
Surviving with an old finish and their original slip-seat frames, these chairs are remarkably pristine examples of a chair design popular in Philadelphia during the Rococo era. The Gothic pierced splat closely follows a Chippendale design (fig. 1) and is seen on a set of plainer chairs bearing the label of James Gillingham (1736-1781). As such, chairs with this pattern are often attributed to his hand. However, as Morrison Heckscher states in his discussion of a chair from the same set as the pair offered here (fig. 2), this set displays the workmanship of a different individual. The chairs from the Nusrala Collection are marked I and V and that at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is similarly marked VI, indicating that the original set consisted of at least six chairs. Advertised by David Stockwell in 1951, one other from this set is known (see Morrison H. Heckscher, American Furniture: The Queen Anne and Chippendale Styles (New York, 1985), pp. 100-101, cat. 54; David Stockwell, advertisement, The Magazine Antiques (September 1951), p. 177). As indicated by the particular graining in the wood (note the lighter grain on the skirt above the proper left front leg), the chair marked I in the Nusrala Collection was illustrated in the works by Hornor (fig. 3) and Kindig cited above (see Literature).
In all likelihood, the set of chairs was made for or later owned by members of the Morris family. At the time it was illustrated in Hornor in 1935 (fig. 3), the chair marked I was owned by Eliza Davids (b. 1895). As cited by Morrison Heckscher, the presumed line of descent was from her great-great-great grandfather, Isaac Greenleafe (1715-1771) who married Catherine Wistar (1730-1806) in 1753. She was also directly descended from Captain Samuel Morris (1734-1812) who married Catherine's sister, Rebecca (1735-1791) in 1755. Owned by Eliza Davids and illustrated in Hornor's work is a dressing table with "fox and grapes" carved ornament, which now along with its matching high chest is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The high chest bears the signature of its later owner, James Milligan (1739-1818) and a date of 1783, suggesting he acquired it at this time. As controller of the Continental Treasury, Milligan was involved in the confiscation of estates from Loyalists and may have acquired the high chest during one of these proceedings. However, he was also closely allied with the Morris family. Four years after he is thought to have acquired the high chest, he married Martha Morris (1749-1815), Samuel's first cousin. Though the dressing table may have been previously separated from its mate and the chair may have descended to Eliza Davids along different lines, these family ties provide several possible sources for the chairs' original owner (see Hornor, pl. 118; Heckscher, p. 100; Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art (Philadelphia, 1976), pp. 132-134, cats. 104a, 104b).
In all likelihood, the set of chairs was made for or later owned by members of the Morris family. At the time it was illustrated in Hornor in 1935 (fig. 3), the chair marked I was owned by Eliza Davids (b. 1895). As cited by Morrison Heckscher, the presumed line of descent was from her great-great-great grandfather, Isaac Greenleafe (1715-1771) who married Catherine Wistar (1730-1806) in 1753. She was also directly descended from Captain Samuel Morris (1734-1812) who married Catherine's sister, Rebecca (1735-1791) in 1755. Owned by Eliza Davids and illustrated in Hornor's work is a dressing table with "fox and grapes" carved ornament, which now along with its matching high chest is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The high chest bears the signature of its later owner, James Milligan (1739-1818) and a date of 1783, suggesting he acquired it at this time. As controller of the Continental Treasury, Milligan was involved in the confiscation of estates from Loyalists and may have acquired the high chest during one of these proceedings. However, he was also closely allied with the Morris family. Four years after he is thought to have acquired the high chest, he married Martha Morris (1749-1815), Samuel's first cousin. Though the dressing table may have been previously separated from its mate and the chair may have descended to Eliza Davids along different lines, these family ties provide several possible sources for the chairs' original owner (see Hornor, pl. 118; Heckscher, p. 100; Philadelphia: Three Centuries of American Art (Philadelphia, 1976), pp. 132-134, cats. 104a, 104b).