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Lot Essay
The superb confluence of carving and cabinetwork manifested in this high chest compares closely to the Samuel Wallis family high chest illustrated in Hornor, Blue Book Philadelphia Furniture (Washington, D.C., 1935), plate 121. The Wallis family high chest is attributed to the shop of William Wayne based on a family history and a surviving bill from Wayne, circa 1770. The present high chest shares with the Wallis family high chest a skirt profile with central carved flourish, fluted quarter columns, very similar shell carving on the central lower drawer, boldly carved rosettes on the steeply arched broken swan's neck pediment, and overall stance and proportions. The carving of the Wallis chest as well as the present example are in keeping with the best carving of the London-trained immigrant carvers in Philadelphia. Of these immigrant carvers, Nicholas Bernard and Martin Jugiez are most likely responsible for the carving on these chests. The attribution of the carving on the Wallis family chest is discussed in Beckerdite, "Philadelphia Carving Shops, Part II: Bernard and Jugiez," Antiques (September 1985), pp. 498-513, fig. 20. The acanthus carving, with its deep, V-shaped central passage accented by the use of a four point punch is in keeping with the work of these carvers, as are the shell-carved drawers with five stop-fluted lobes centering a carved rosette. Architectural elements and furniture attributed to these carvers also often exhibit a star-punched ground, again in keeping with the present high chest.
A number of related high chests and dressing tables are known, including a dressing table with similar skirt design and carving advertised by Leigh Keno, Inc., Antiques (January 1993), p. 18. Bernard and Jugiez also worked for the cabinetmaker Thomas Affleck, and the execution of the carving on a number of objects attributed to his shop is very much in keeping with the presently offered high chest (see Beckerdite, pp. 503-507).
A number of related high chests and dressing tables are known, including a dressing table with similar skirt design and carving advertised by Leigh Keno, Inc., Antiques (January 1993), p. 18. Bernard and Jugiez also worked for the cabinetmaker Thomas Affleck, and the execution of the carving on a number of objects attributed to his shop is very much in keeping with the presently offered high chest (see Beckerdite, pp. 503-507).