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Lot Essay
With poignant pictorial inlay, this desk-and-bookcase can be attributed to cabinetmakers working in the same circle as Nathan Lumbard (1777-1847), a particularly ingenious craftsman of central Massachusetts renowned for his elaborate and imaginative inlaid ornament. The unusual pictorial inlay is a storytelling feature. One possible interpretation of the design references Aesop’s fable of The Oak & Reeds, a story which communicates the moral ‘Better to yield when it is folly to resist, than to resist stubbornly and be destroyed.’ Here, the oak has been replaced with a birch tree commonly found in the region. Another possibility is a life cut short. Here, a tree in full bloom with a small sapling is on the left door; on the right, the tree trunk is broken, the upper branches falling to the ground and the small sapling has lost most of its leaves. A dead tree has long been symbolic of mortality and more specifically, one with a sudden break as seen on this desk could refer to a life interrupted. Taken together with the change in the sapling, it is conceivable that the ornament on the desk refers to the deaths of a mother and child, a frequent event during childbirth in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Evidence indicates that likely makers of this desk-and-bookcase could be Lumbard’s master, Oliver Wight (1765-1837) (fig.1), Daniel Laisdel (Laisdell) (w. c.1803), who probably worked in Wight’s shop, or a collaboration of Wight and Laisdel. The serpentine-front form, vertically oriented veneers, chevron stringing and pictorial inlay are all features associated with Lumbard; furthermore, Lumbard’s forms feature the same details in the construction of the base framework and feet, suggesting that he and the maker or makers of this desk-and-bookcase worked together in the same shop. A desk-and-bookcase with related ornament that diverges from Lumbard's practices in a similar fashion has been attributed to Wight or Laisdel by Brock Jobe. Here and on the related desk, the straight bracket feet have a small cusp and pronounced swell near the base, a design that contrasts with examples made by Lumbard that bear a C-scroll inner profile and often a noticeable small scroll at the base. As referenced by Jobe, the pattern seen here also features on a chest most likely signed by Laisdel.
Furthermore, the execution of the inlaid ornament suggests the work of a maker unfamiliar with the techniques of the craft. Lacking the finesse and fluidity of Lumbard's ornament, the tree inlay is made from pieces of wood with uneven, angular cuts; for the thinner branches and leaves, the maker filled the voids with a dark malleable substance, most likely lampblack or asphaltum, a material used by Lumbard. Also, the paterae on the prospect door has straight rays, simpler than the wavy lines seen on Lumbard’s more complex versions. Inlay with related characteristics is seen on a clock case signed by Wight, a sideboard probably by Wight and a sideboard signed by Laisdel. See Christie Jackson, Brock Jobe, Clark Pearce, Crafting Excellence: The Furniture of Nathan Lumbard and His Circle (Winterthur, 2018), pp. 42-46, 67, 122, 167-169, 175, 181-182, 195-198, 206, 266 (fn. 21), pls. 24, 30, 31, 39).
Christie's would like to thank Brock Jobe, Professor Emeritus of American Decorative Arts, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, for his assistance with this note.
Evidence indicates that likely makers of this desk-and-bookcase could be Lumbard’s master, Oliver Wight (1765-1837) (fig.1), Daniel Laisdel (Laisdell) (w. c.1803), who probably worked in Wight’s shop, or a collaboration of Wight and Laisdel. The serpentine-front form, vertically oriented veneers, chevron stringing and pictorial inlay are all features associated with Lumbard; furthermore, Lumbard’s forms feature the same details in the construction of the base framework and feet, suggesting that he and the maker or makers of this desk-and-bookcase worked together in the same shop. A desk-and-bookcase with related ornament that diverges from Lumbard's practices in a similar fashion has been attributed to Wight or Laisdel by Brock Jobe. Here and on the related desk, the straight bracket feet have a small cusp and pronounced swell near the base, a design that contrasts with examples made by Lumbard that bear a C-scroll inner profile and often a noticeable small scroll at the base. As referenced by Jobe, the pattern seen here also features on a chest most likely signed by Laisdel.
Furthermore, the execution of the inlaid ornament suggests the work of a maker unfamiliar with the techniques of the craft. Lacking the finesse and fluidity of Lumbard's ornament, the tree inlay is made from pieces of wood with uneven, angular cuts; for the thinner branches and leaves, the maker filled the voids with a dark malleable substance, most likely lampblack or asphaltum, a material used by Lumbard. Also, the paterae on the prospect door has straight rays, simpler than the wavy lines seen on Lumbard’s more complex versions. Inlay with related characteristics is seen on a clock case signed by Wight, a sideboard probably by Wight and a sideboard signed by Laisdel. See Christie Jackson, Brock Jobe, Clark Pearce, Crafting Excellence: The Furniture of Nathan Lumbard and His Circle (Winterthur, 2018), pp. 42-46, 67, 122, 167-169, 175, 181-182, 195-198, 206, 266 (fn. 21), pls. 24, 30, 31, 39).
Christie's would like to thank Brock Jobe, Professor Emeritus of American Decorative Arts, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, for his assistance with this note.