POSSIBLY JOHN TOWNSEND (1733-1809), NEWPORT, CIRCA 1800

With matching grain and veneers, these Newport card tables are among a few which have survived intact as a true pair. Accentuated by subtle line stringing, a central inlaid paterae, sweeping curvilinear frames, and sleek tapering legs, these tables illustrate the quality of craftsmanship associated with cabinetmakers from the Townsend and Goddard families. The fluted edges of the top leaves, serpentine facades, blocked corners and beaded skirts are all features seen on Chippendale examples of this form, which lack the inlaid decoration and display stop-fluted legs (Nancy E. Richards and Nancy Goyne Evans, New England Furniture at Winterthur: Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (Winterthur, DE, 1997), p. 271, cat. 142). As the only known tables of this type with inlaid ornament, they stand as rare, Federal-era examples of a popular Chippendale form.