BOSTON, 1740-1760

With its graceful cabriole legs below bold turret-top corners and ogee shaping along the apron and knee returns, this table represents one of the best examples of the form favored by Boston cabinetmakers in the decades before the Revolutionary War. Further distinguished by its rich old surface, the present lot is a rare survival of a small group, probably numbering less than ten in total, of tables with similarly restrained decoration, pad feet, and a width of under thirty inches. Other examples include those formerly in the collections of Mrs. J. Insley Blair; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph K. Ott; Mr. and Mrs. Hugh B. Cox; Israel Sack, Inc. and one with a similar drop pendant, originally from the family of Revolutionary War patriot Josiah Merriam (1726-1809) (see Christie’s, New York, Property from the Collection of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, 21 January 2006, lot 516; Christie’s, New York, The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph K. Ott, 20 January 2012, lot 150; Keno Auctions, New York, 18 January 2011, lot 175; Israel Sack, Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack, vol. 4, p. 1068, P3973; Skinner, Inc., Bolton, Massachusetts, 29 October 1995, lot 140).