POSSIBLY CHRISTOPHER TOWNSEND (1701-1787) OR JOB TOWNSEND, SR. (1699-1765), NEWPORT, 1740-1750

Exhibiting characteristics of high style Newport furniture of the 1740s, this dressing table was most likely made by one of the city's two leading cabinetmakers of the period, Christopher Townsend (1701-1787) or his brother, Job Townsend, Sr. (1699-1765). The slender cabriole legs with slipper feet, dovetailed case and joining of the legs with glueblocks are all hallmarks of Newport craftsmanship and contrast with the mortise-and-tenon joinery seen on dressing tables from other regions. With notched ogee shaping and a central raised double arch, the skirt profile on the table is closely related to that on a high chest made by Christopher Townsend in 1748 (fig. 1). Two other high chests with the same skirt design are also believed to illustrate the work of Christopher or Job prior to 1750 (Luke Beckerdite, "The Early Furniture of Christopher and Job Townsend," American Furniture 2000 (Milwaukee, WI, 2000), pp. 10-16, 24-25, figs. 20, 28, 40).