Cusp and Scroll

Characteristics:

• Rail: Raised sides with tight scrolls, a pair of cusps, and a central fishtail

• Drawer Configuration: One over two drawers, one over three drawers and three over three drawers

• Top: Squared and ogee

• Case: Squared and fluted and stop fluted canted, or fluted quarter column

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Squared paneled pad, trifid, or ball and claw

Known makers: Josiah Claypoole (1717—1757)

Best examples:

• PMA 1998-178-1a--c

• PMA 2006-91-1a, b

• Winterthur 1959.1326

• Yale University Art Gallery 1930.2632

• American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, vol. 6, 1536-37, P2689

High Chest
Carving attributed to Samuel Harding, (active by 1751, d. 1758)

Philadelphia, 1750-55
Maple, tulip poplar
6 feet 8 inches x 43 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Bequest of Hope Starr Lloyd, 2006-91-1a,b

High Chest of Drawers
Josiah Claypoole (Philadelphia 1717—Charleston 1757)

Charleston, South Carolina, 1743
Mahogany, black cherry, tulip poplar, white cedar, yellow pine
7 feet 1/8 inches x 44 1/16 x 23 1/4 inches
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Gift of Martin A. Battestin, 1998-78-1a--c

Characteristics:

• Rail: Scrolls, single cusp centering on a pendant drop, with and without shell

• Drawer Configuration: One over three with a shell carved central drawer

• Top: Squared and ogee

• Case: Fluted quarter column

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Ball and claw

Known makers: S. L. Orne and W. I. Kingsley

Best examples:

• Metropolitan Museum of Art 30.120.61

• Yale University Art Gallery 1930.2596

• Wallace Nutting, Furniture Treasury, vol. 1, no. 432

• American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, vol. 8, 1936—37, P5203

• Miller with Kirtley, Start With a House, Finish with a Collection, 2014, 227, illus.

• Christie’s, New York, January 20—21, 2005, lot 536

• Christie’s, New York, January 21, 2006 (sale 1745) lot 672

• Christie’s, New York, January 21, 2006 (sale 1618), lot 537

• Sotheby’s, New York, January 19, 2008, lot 191

• Skinner, Boston, November 7, 2010, lot 226

• Christie’s, New York, January 21, 2011, lot 182

• Freeman’s, Philadelphia, April 30, 2012, lot 359

• Sotheby’s, New York, January 23—25, 2015, lot 899

• Northeast Auctions, Portsmouth, NH, October 28—29, 2017, lot 556

• Skinner, Boston, November 3, 2018, lot 207

• Christie’s, New York, January 17—18, 2019, lot 1235

Dressing Table
Maker unknown

Philadelphia, 1755-90
Mahogany, yellow pine, tulip poplar, white cedar
30 5/8 x 35 7/8 x 20 5/8 inches
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Sylmaris Collection, Gift of George Coe Graves, 1930, 30.120.61

Characteristics:

• Rail: Tightly scrolled with small drops and cusps centering on a pendant

• Drawer Configuration: Two over two drawers or one over three drawers

• Top: Squared and ogee

• Case: Squared or fluted quarter column

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Ball and claw

Known makers:

Best examples:

• Colonial Williamsburg 1991-63,

• American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, vol. 6, 1451, P4530

• Magazine Antiques, January 1956, 66, illus.

• Sotheby’s, New York, September 26, 2008, lot 9

Dressing Table

1760-70
Walnut
31 1/2 x 36 x 19 1/2 inches
American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, Pl. 4530

Characteristics:

• Rail: Exuberantly scrolled with large openings, including pairs of scrolls that make a heart profile

• Drawer Configuration: One over three drawers, with a central drawer a little lower than the sides

• Top: Squared and ogee

• Case: Fluted canted or fluted quarter column

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Paneled pad or ball and claw

Known makers:

Best examples:

• PMA McNeil high chest and dressing table (below)

• Wallace Nutting, Furniture Treasury, nos, 424, 442

• W.M. Hornor, Blue Book, pls. 122, 130

• Christie’s, New York, January 16, 1999, lot 599

• Skinner, Boston, June 5, 2005, lot 81

• Christie’s, New York, September 20, 2017, lot 116

High Chest and Dressing Table

Philadelphia, 1760-65
Mahogany, tulip poplar, Atlantic white cedar, and yellow pine, brass
High Chest: 98 × 44 3/4 × 23 1/4 inches
Dressing Table: 30 1/2 × 33 7/8 × 20 1/2 inches
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Promised gift of the McNeil Americana Collection

Dressing Table

1760-70
Walnut
31 x 34 x 20 inches
Ex-Collection George A. Palmer
Wallace Nutting, Furniture Treasury, no. 424

Characteristics:

• Rail: Crescendo of serrated scrolls descends down to central spade-shaped drop, with and without shell

• Drawer Configuration: One over three, with the central drawer extending lower than side drawers

• Top: Squared and ogee

• Case: Squared and fluted quarter columns

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Trifid, ball and claw

Known makers:

Best examples:

• Colonial Williamsburg 1962-258

• Winterthur 1959.0634

• W.M. Hornor, Blue Book, pl. 69

• Wallace Nutting, Furniture Treasury, nos. 409, 441

Dressing Table
Unknown Maker

Philadelphia, 1740-70
Walnut; Tulip poplar; Pine, hard pine
29 1/4 x 35 1/5 x 22 3/4 inches
1959.0634, Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont
Courtesy of Winterthur Museum

Dressing Table

1740-60
Walnut
Unknown dimensions
Former collection of Mrs. Francis P. Garvan
Photo: Wallace Nutting, Furniture Treasury, vol. 1, no. 409

Characteristics:

• Rail: Scrolled with large dominant cusps (inwardly and outwardly facing) that are hook-like

• Drawer Configuration: One over three drawers, with central drawer a little lower than the sides

• Top: Squared and ogee

• Case: Fluted quarter column

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Ball and claw

Known makers:

Best examples:

• PMA 1963-102-1 (deaccessioned)

• Baltimore Museum of Art 2012.295

• Minneapolis Institute of Art 31.23

• Rosenbach Museum 00028

• Magazine Antiques, November 1941, 310, illus.

• W.M. Hornor, Blue Book, pls. 127, 128, 155

• Sotheby’s, New York, January 17—18, 2002, lot 405

• Christie’s, New York, January 23, 2009, lot 224

Dressing Table

Philadelphia, 1765-75
Mahogany, red gum, cedar, brass
31 3/8 × 36 × 22 inches
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Bequest of Mrs. Alexander H. Scott, 1963-102-1 (deaccessioned)

Characteristics:

• Rail: cusp and scrolled front, central panel with a central node, which may rise up or drop down, usually carved shell at the center or empty. Outgrowth of David Evans group (see Scroll)

• Drawer Configuration: One over three drawers with central drawer large and carved

• Top: usually squared, rarely ogee

• Case: Fluted canted corners, fluted quarter column, smooth quarter column

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Ball and claw

Known makers: George Claypoole Sr. (1706 —1770); Henry Clifton (1725-1771)

Best examples:

• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1927-91-1

• Detroit Institute of Arts 73.3

• Milwaukee Art Museum M1984.120

• Winterthur 1959.1324

• RISD Museum 04.125

• Vincent Lockwood, Colonial Furniture in America, vol. 1, 1957, 110-111, figs. 108-109

• Wallace Nutting, Furniture Treasury, vol. 1, nos. 371, 426, 430, 433

• American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, vol. 6, 38, P3329.; vol. 6, 38; vol. 8, 1783, 2276

• Magazine Antiques, January 1956, 64-66, figs. 2, 4

• Freeman’s, Philadelphia, April 20, 2010, lot 512

• Christie’s, New York, September 25, 2013, lot 23

High Chest of Drawers
Henry Clifton (c. 1725—1771) and Thomas Carteret (active 1753-1765)

1755-65
Mahogany, brass
96 3/4 x 45 x 22 1/4 inches
Detroit Institute of Art
Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund and Henry Ford II Fund, 73.3

Characteristics:

• Rail: Scrolled with large dominant cusps (inwardly and outwardly facing) that are hook-like and have a large panel, often highly carved, hanging down

• Drawer Configuration: One over three drawers, with all three drawers nearly the same height

• Top: Squared and ogee

• Case: Fluted quarter column

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Ball and claw

Known makers:

Best examples:

• Winterthur 1958.1451

• American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, 2230. illus.

• Clement E. Conger with Mary K. Itsell (ed. Alexandra W. Rollins), Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State, 1991, cats. 19, 65

• Doyle, New York, April 5, 2011, lot 157

Dressing Table

Philadelphia
Walnut
28 3/4 x 35 1/4 x 20 1/2 inches
Doyle, New York, April 5, 2011, lot 157

High Chest
Unknown Maker

Philadelphia, 1765-80
Maple, white cedar, hard pine and tulip poplar
96 x 42 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches
1958.1451, Gift of Henry Francis du Pont
Courtesy of Winterthur Museum

Characteristics:

• Rail: High, tight scroll pattern with panel hanging down with central carved shell

• Drawer Configuration: One over three drawers, with central drawer longer and a little lower than the sides

• Top: Canted and ogee

• Case: Fluted canted and fluted quarter column

• Legs: Cabriole

• Feet: Trifid, ball and claw

Known makers: Henry Clifton (c. 1725–1771), Thomas Carteret (sometimes Cartwright, c. 1710–1784)

Best examples:

• PMA 1925-65-1

• Colonial Williamsburg 1993-130 not on website

• Colonial Williamsburg 1975-154

• W.M. Hornor, Blue Book, pls. 182, 183, 185

• Sotheby’s, New York, September 26, 2008, lot 9