CARVING ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN POLLARD (1740-1787) OR ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS, PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1770

This side chair and the three others to survive from the same set are the only known Philadelphia Chippendale chairs with over-upholstered compass seats. One of the others is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and displayed at Mount Pleasant and two were advertised by Israel Sack (see Israel Sack, Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, vol. I, p. 199, no. 505; one of these, with its original upholstery underpinnings is illustrated in John T. Kirk, American Chairs: Queen Anne and Chippendale (New York, 1972), p. 89, no. 87). Like the chair offered in lot 688, this example has a bellflower on its splat that is closely related to carved elements attributed to John Pollard (1740-1787). Furthermore, both chairs exhibit similar designs on the knee carving, with a central lobe with astragal-shaped terminus. Possibly carved by Pollard, this chair may also have been embellished by an artisan familiar with his work.