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Lot Essay
Only a handful of serpentine marble top tables survive from Colonial America. Of that group, this Chippendale, or late-Baroque, marble table and frame is the most fully developed example to survive from New York. With its sweeping form, exceptionally well carved knees and feet, exquisite proportions, and a highly figured, thick marble slab, it is a tour de force of New York craftsmanship. Furthermore, it survives in outstanding condition, retaining its original top and a rich, original surface. The small group of serpentine marble top tables known include a handful of Newport, Rhode Island and Philadelphia examples, as well as at least two other New York tables.
According to family history, this superb New York marble-top table descended within the Cortelyou family, a Dutch family that was among the earliest to emigrate to Long Island, New York. The Huguenot Jacques Cortelyou was born in Utrecht, Holland, to French parents in 1624, and came to America in 1652 as a tutor to the children of Cornelis Van Werckhoven. By 1657 Jacques was living on Long Island and was appointed to the position of surveryor-general of the colony. In the same year, he founded "a town on Long Island on the Bay of the North River in memory of the old Dutch city, which was his birthplace. He named this village New Utrecht." A respected member in his community, Jacques also served as a Vendue Master, a justice of the peace, a Judge in the court of common pleas and sessions, Captain of militia, and was a learned man of math, science and medicine. He was also surveyor-general, and he is believed to have created the first map of New York City.
Aaron Cortelyou (1726-1789), the great grandson of Jacques, was perhaps the first owner of this table. Aaron was a Colonel who purchased the Lakeman-Cortelyou-Taylor House on Staten Island in 1751, a house believed to have been constructed in 1684 by Abraham Lakeman. Soon after the purchase of this house, he married Elizabeth Androvet, who joined him in his Staten Island estate. Not long after the marriage, Aaron and Elizabeth inherited money from Pieter Androvet, Elizabeth's father, who mentions them in his will dated 1761. This period of the marriage and prosperity of Aaron and his wife Elizabeth corresponds to the time of the manufacture of this table, and the couple may have purchased the table for their Staten Island home.
Aaron Cortelyou was a petitioner for the founding of the first Moravian church of Staten Island. In 1762 he petitioned the Moravian church of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that a church also be established on Staten Island. Upon his death in 1789, Aaron bequeathed to his wife 500 dollars, along with the furnishings of one room and one horse, and a slave, while she was a widow. The rest of Aaron Cortelyou's Estate, including the house and the land, went to his son Peter, with a legacy to Peter's daughter Elizabeth. On April 13, 1794, Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Cortelyou, sold to Joseph Taylor of Richmond County the farm and buildings of her grandfather's estate for the sum of 1000 dollars.
Another Cortelyou who enjoyed prosperity during these years was Peter (1722-1777), grandson of Jacques and uncle of Aaron. Born in the town his grandfather founded, Peter was married to Antgenietje Dehart in 1743, and lived on lands inherited from his grandfather. He and his father (also named Jacques) operated a ferry for passengers wishing to cross the narrows. Their wealth and estate are documented in Charles Ditmas' Historic Homesteads in Kings County (Brooklyn, 1909). While Peter was wealthy enough to purchase this extravagant table, he was not likely its first owner. In 1776, when the British landed on New Utrecht beach before the Battle of Long Island, the lower part of the Cortelyou house was used as a bakery for the 33rd regiment of the British fleet. While the British were occupying the Cortelyou homestead, by accident the house took fire and burned down. It is not known if the house still contained the furnishings of the Peter Cortelyou family, but if so, they were presumably lost. Peter's son Simon Cortelyou received a compensation of 900 pounds for their house, and it was rebuilt in 1787.
The maker of this table is not known, but it must have come from one of the most sophisticated shops in New York. The cabinet trade was flourishing in New York in the 1750s and 1760s, fueled by fortunes made in the French and Indian War. The influx of money drew immigrant carvers from London and elsewhere to the city, including Henry Hardcastle (fl. 1750-1756) and his protege Stephen Dwight, and in the 1760s John Brinner, James Strachan, and John Minshall. Other carving in New York shows the clear influence of Boston carving, as does the knee carving of this table (see Beckerdite, "Immigrant Carvers in New York" in American Furniture (Chipstone, 1996) pp. 233-265). The marble slab appears to have been quarried in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and imported for use in New York. Anthony Dodane and Thomas Brown were among those who advertised marble slabs for sale in New York in the 1760s (see The Arts and Crafts in New York 1726-1776, (New York Historical Society, 1938), p. 228-230).
According to family history, this superb New York marble-top table descended within the Cortelyou family, a Dutch family that was among the earliest to emigrate to Long Island, New York. The Huguenot Jacques Cortelyou was born in Utrecht, Holland, to French parents in 1624, and came to America in 1652 as a tutor to the children of Cornelis Van Werckhoven. By 1657 Jacques was living on Long Island and was appointed to the position of surveryor-general of the colony. In the same year, he founded "a town on Long Island on the Bay of the North River in memory of the old Dutch city, which was his birthplace. He named this village New Utrecht." A respected member in his community, Jacques also served as a Vendue Master, a justice of the peace, a Judge in the court of common pleas and sessions, Captain of militia, and was a learned man of math, science and medicine. He was also surveyor-general, and he is believed to have created the first map of New York City.
Aaron Cortelyou (1726-1789), the great grandson of Jacques, was perhaps the first owner of this table. Aaron was a Colonel who purchased the Lakeman-Cortelyou-Taylor House on Staten Island in 1751, a house believed to have been constructed in 1684 by Abraham Lakeman. Soon after the purchase of this house, he married Elizabeth Androvet, who joined him in his Staten Island estate. Not long after the marriage, Aaron and Elizabeth inherited money from Pieter Androvet, Elizabeth's father, who mentions them in his will dated 1761. This period of the marriage and prosperity of Aaron and his wife Elizabeth corresponds to the time of the manufacture of this table, and the couple may have purchased the table for their Staten Island home.
Aaron Cortelyou was a petitioner for the founding of the first Moravian church of Staten Island. In 1762 he petitioned the Moravian church of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that a church also be established on Staten Island. Upon his death in 1789, Aaron bequeathed to his wife 500 dollars, along with the furnishings of one room and one horse, and a slave, while she was a widow. The rest of Aaron Cortelyou's Estate, including the house and the land, went to his son Peter, with a legacy to Peter's daughter Elizabeth. On April 13, 1794, Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Cortelyou, sold to Joseph Taylor of Richmond County the farm and buildings of her grandfather's estate for the sum of 1000 dollars.
Another Cortelyou who enjoyed prosperity during these years was Peter (1722-1777), grandson of Jacques and uncle of Aaron. Born in the town his grandfather founded, Peter was married to Antgenietje Dehart in 1743, and lived on lands inherited from his grandfather. He and his father (also named Jacques) operated a ferry for passengers wishing to cross the narrows. Their wealth and estate are documented in Charles Ditmas' Historic Homesteads in Kings County (Brooklyn, 1909). While Peter was wealthy enough to purchase this extravagant table, he was not likely its first owner. In 1776, when the British landed on New Utrecht beach before the Battle of Long Island, the lower part of the Cortelyou house was used as a bakery for the 33rd regiment of the British fleet. While the British were occupying the Cortelyou homestead, by accident the house took fire and burned down. It is not known if the house still contained the furnishings of the Peter Cortelyou family, but if so, they were presumably lost. Peter's son Simon Cortelyou received a compensation of 900 pounds for their house, and it was rebuilt in 1787.
The maker of this table is not known, but it must have come from one of the most sophisticated shops in New York. The cabinet trade was flourishing in New York in the 1750s and 1760s, fueled by fortunes made in the French and Indian War. The influx of money drew immigrant carvers from London and elsewhere to the city, including Henry Hardcastle (fl. 1750-1756) and his protege Stephen Dwight, and in the 1760s John Brinner, James Strachan, and John Minshall. Other carving in New York shows the clear influence of Boston carving, as does the knee carving of this table (see Beckerdite, "Immigrant Carvers in New York" in American Furniture (Chipstone, 1996) pp. 233-265). The marble slab appears to have been quarried in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and imported for use in New York. Anthony Dodane and Thomas Brown were among those who advertised marble slabs for sale in New York in the 1760s (see The Arts and Crafts in New York 1726-1776, (New York Historical Society, 1938), p. 228-230).