Forty-one pieces of American antique furniture have sold at auction for over a million dollars. As a way of buffing up our antique vocabulary and knowledge of form and construction techniques concerning the craft of cabinetmaking, let's take a look at a few of the masterpieces.
$1,696,000 – New York Marble Top Mixing Table: Purchased at Christie's auction, January, 2005 the ball and claw foot table with curved cabriole legs, a serpentine shaped frieze (the body or case of a piece of furniture, especially tables) and a conforming marble top retains its old grungy surface much in demand these days. The knees on the cabriole legs are carved with shells. The drop-in marble top probably quarried in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania is boldly colored and original to the base. Likely used as a spill-safe serving table before and after the American Revolution, the slab table like all the pieces on this list is a perfect 10, form-wise.
$2,422,000 – Philadelphia Piecrust Tea Table: A piecrust top is aptly named as the cabinetmaker carved the large circular piece of mahogany in such a way to resemble a pie with crimped curvy sides. Think of a pie crust lid Martha Steward spent a month modeling. A single turned and carved pedestal bears the top on a birdcage support that enables tipping on hinge supports at 90 degrees or a rotating swivel action. Dovetailed into the pedestal or post of the table (from underneath) are the shaped and carved cabriole legs ending in ball and claw feet. Dragon paw clutching a ball carved feet were popular in the Chippendale Period (1750-1785). This table was sold on January 26, 1986 at Sotheby's for $1,045,000. It was the first piece of American furniture to break a million at auction. Resold at Christie's this past January, it more than doubled in price in less than ten years.
$1,876,000 – Japanned Boston High Chest: A tall chest of drawers raised up off the ground with long legs is called a highboy. This highboy was made in the Queen Anne Period (1720-1750) with feminine graceful lines, compared to the masculine bold lines of later period Chippendale furniture. It was graced with a bonnet top. Think of Napoleon's hat with an open broken arch in the center. The beautifully proportioned case is supported by tall feminine cabriole legs ending in slipper like Queen Anne pad. The chest retains original black lacquer decoration with eggshell colored oriental figures. The difficult to master decoration is similar to Eastern Chinoisorie art that so fascinated the Western world during the first half of the 18th century -- an era when shipping was expanding globally. The highboy was also signed by decorator Robert Davis, making it a masterpiece in many areas.
$2,750,000 – Cadwalader hairy-paw foot wing armchair: The name of the first owner of this mid-18th century upholstered easy chair is mentioned in the title because this chair's provenance is important. General John Cadwalader was one of the richest men in Colonial Philadelphia and is known to have order a furniture suite with hair carved feet. The chair attributed to Benjamin Randolph is the highest development of Philadelphia formal furniture and the most intact of any of the four known extant.
$12,100,000 – Nicholas Brown family block-and-shell front mahogany secretary attributed to Newport, RI cabinetmakers, Goddard & Townsend: American antique furniture receives the credit it deserves as an art form. In America, where imagination flourished under a new form of government, great furniture was developed and crafted. This massive nine foot tall slant front desk with secretary top is expertly crafted out of the finest San Domingo mahogany. Normally fashioned from one piece of wood with alternately raised and recessed panels surmounted by carved and concave shells "blockfront" furniture form was developed by one the most ingenious furniture making shops in the golden era of American furniture – the 18th century. It was purchased at auction June 3, 1989 -- an excellent buy!
Million Dollar Masterpieces
Write
to
Wayne Mattox
Like AntiqueTalk?
Recommend
it to a friend!
Copyright © 1995 - 2006 Wayne Mattox
Home | Columns | On-Line Auctions | Our Shop | Appraisals
Events and Lectures | Wayne Mattox | Woodbury
