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Lot Essay
A graceful composition of curvilinear parts, this upholstered armchair epitomizes the Queen Anne style and is a rare survival of New York furniture from the first half of the eighteenth century. It is one of six closely related chairs that probably illustrate the work of the same shop. The other five comprise a walnut chair at Winterthur Museum (fig. 1), a walnut pair at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (fig. 2), and two chairs in private collections (a mahogany chair, illustrated in Israel Sack, Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack, vol. V, p. 1190 and Israel Sack, Inc., advertisement, The Magazine Antiques (July 1975), inside front cover; an unpublished walnut chair sold by Leigh Keno, Inc. in 1991, Leigh Keno, Inc. Files).
The attribution of the group to New York is based upon their design, wood use and construction techniques. With a wide, sweeping front seat rail, the chair is broadly proportioned, a feature associated with English prototypes and often emulated by New York chair makers of this period (see John T. Kirk, American Furniture and the British Tradition (New York, 1982), p. 244, fig. 805). The secondary woods, ash (as determined by microanalysis) seat rails and poplar crest, are those commonly found in New York furniture. The rear returns are tenoned into the larger mortises in the rear stiles that also contain the tenons of the side seat rails, an unusual construction feature that is associated with New York craftsmanship.
Furthermore, this chair as well as those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art descended in New York families. According to Mrs. Blair's notes, this chair was acquired from a branch of the Van Rensselaer family. Interestingly, the nineteenth-century replica in the following lot, which was purchased by Mrs. Blair from the same source, appears to be from the same set as seven chairs at Winterthur Museum with a history in the Tibbits (or Tibbets) family of New York. It is possible that the Van Rensselaer and Tibbits family descendants shared a common eighteenth-century ancestor who was the first owner of the set that included this chair in lot 523; and, before being divided into different branches of the family, a nineteenth-century owner had copies made to enlarge the original set. The pair at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (fig. 2) descended in the Ludlow family of New York City and may have been made for William Ludlow (b. 1707) who married Mary Duncan in 1731 (Morrison H. Heckscher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Late Colonial Period: Queen Anne and Chippendale (New York, 1985), p. 116).
Comparison of the details of the chair's construction with those at Winterthur Museum (fig. 1) and the Metropolitan Museum (fig. 2), along with available evidence from other chairs in the group, strongly indicate a common source with their minor differences suggesting variations within the same cabinetmaking shop. All have arched crest rails with the lower edge following the curve of the upper; in the later chairs (lot 523), this lower edge runs straight across. The crests are mortise-and-tenoned to the tops of the stiles, with this chair and that at Winterthur Museum lacking pins while those at the Metropolitan Museum are pinned once at each joint. The shaping on the outside of the stiles, which are continuations of the rear legs, is created by the addition of separate blocks. The side seat rails are tenoned to the front rail, each joint reinforced with two pins and the legs are attached to the front seat rail with large double-wedged dovetails. As seen in this chair, the glueblocks, when they survive, consist of rear quarter-round blocks and large triangular blocks placed behind the front legs. Also, the measurements taken from numerous areas of this chair, including the thickness of the framing members and the taper towards the top of the rear stiles, are almost identical to those of the chair at Winterthur Museum, and any differences are under a quarter of an inch. Aside from the example sold by Israel Sack, Inc., all the other chairs in the group are recorded to be of walnut and if this is the case, it indicates that they represent different sets. The Sack example, noted to be of mahogany like this chair, has serpentine arm supports that lack the crook seen in all the others. If the arm supports are original, then it too represents another set; however, if they have been restored, it is possible that it was from the same set as the Blair Collection chair.
The attribution of the group to New York is based upon their design, wood use and construction techniques. With a wide, sweeping front seat rail, the chair is broadly proportioned, a feature associated with English prototypes and often emulated by New York chair makers of this period (see John T. Kirk, American Furniture and the British Tradition (New York, 1982), p. 244, fig. 805). The secondary woods, ash (as determined by microanalysis) seat rails and poplar crest, are those commonly found in New York furniture. The rear returns are tenoned into the larger mortises in the rear stiles that also contain the tenons of the side seat rails, an unusual construction feature that is associated with New York craftsmanship.
Furthermore, this chair as well as those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art descended in New York families. According to Mrs. Blair's notes, this chair was acquired from a branch of the Van Rensselaer family. Interestingly, the nineteenth-century replica in the following lot, which was purchased by Mrs. Blair from the same source, appears to be from the same set as seven chairs at Winterthur Museum with a history in the Tibbits (or Tibbets) family of New York. It is possible that the Van Rensselaer and Tibbits family descendants shared a common eighteenth-century ancestor who was the first owner of the set that included this chair in lot 523; and, before being divided into different branches of the family, a nineteenth-century owner had copies made to enlarge the original set. The pair at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (fig. 2) descended in the Ludlow family of New York City and may have been made for William Ludlow (b. 1707) who married Mary Duncan in 1731 (Morrison H. Heckscher, American Furniture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Late Colonial Period: Queen Anne and Chippendale (New York, 1985), p. 116).
Comparison of the details of the chair's construction with those at Winterthur Museum (fig. 1) and the Metropolitan Museum (fig. 2), along with available evidence from other chairs in the group, strongly indicate a common source with their minor differences suggesting variations within the same cabinetmaking shop. All have arched crest rails with the lower edge following the curve of the upper; in the later chairs (lot 523), this lower edge runs straight across. The crests are mortise-and-tenoned to the tops of the stiles, with this chair and that at Winterthur Museum lacking pins while those at the Metropolitan Museum are pinned once at each joint. The shaping on the outside of the stiles, which are continuations of the rear legs, is created by the addition of separate blocks. The side seat rails are tenoned to the front rail, each joint reinforced with two pins and the legs are attached to the front seat rail with large double-wedged dovetails. As seen in this chair, the glueblocks, when they survive, consist of rear quarter-round blocks and large triangular blocks placed behind the front legs. Also, the measurements taken from numerous areas of this chair, including the thickness of the framing members and the taper towards the top of the rear stiles, are almost identical to those of the chair at Winterthur Museum, and any differences are under a quarter of an inch. Aside from the example sold by Israel Sack, Inc., all the other chairs in the group are recorded to be of walnut and if this is the case, it indicates that they represent different sets. The Sack example, noted to be of mahogany like this chair, has serpentine arm supports that lack the crook seen in all the others. If the arm supports are original, then it too represents another set; however, if they have been restored, it is possible that it was from the same set as the Blair Collection chair.