ATTRIBUTED TO JOSEPH B. BARRY (1757-1838), PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1810

Details

A PAIR OF CLASSICAL MAHOGANY ARM CHAIRS
ATTRIBUTED TO JOSEPH B. BARRY (1757-1838), PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1810
each with impressed W on inner rear rail
35 in. high

Provenance

Weightman Family, Philadelphia
Israel Sack Inc., New York

Literature

Tom Armstrong, Amy Coes, Ella Foshay, and Wendell Garrett, An American Odyssey: The Warner Collection of Fine and Decorative Arts (New York, 2001), pp. 20, 166.

Special notice

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Lot Essay

A sofa attributed to Joseph Barry with similar armrests carved in the shape of a dog's head was made for Louis Clapier of Philadelphia. These armrests are thought to be typical of the figural carving that Barry did before before the War of 1812 (Robert T. Trump, "Joseph B. Barry, Philadelphia cabinetmaker," The Magazine Antiques (January 1975), pp. 162-163). An armchair and side chair with similar ogee carving on the crest rail and the same reeded legs as the subject pair are also attributed to Barry. These chairs also originally belonged to the The Weightman family who were prominent manufacturing chemists in Philadelphia. Another related sofa with extremely similar plumage carving and ogee cutout on the crest rail is attributed to Barry, and is illustrated, along with the aforementioned armchair in Donald L. Fennimore and Robert T. Trump, "Joseph B. Barry, Philadelphia cabinetmaker," The Magazine Antiques (May 1989), p. 1222.

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