ArtHitParade
ArtHitParade on X
  • Home
    • Contact
  • Calendar
  • Top 10
    • Origin
    • From 600 BCE to CE
    • Years 1 to 1000
    • Years 1000 to 1400
    • 15th Century >
      • Years 1400-1429
      • Years 1430-1459
      • Years 1460-1479
      • Years 1480-1499
    • 16th Century >
      • Years 1500-1519
      • Decade 1520-1529
      • Decade 1530-1539
      • Years 1540-1569
      • Years 1570-1599
    • 17th Century >
      • Decade 1600-1609
      • Decade 1610-1619
      • Decade 1620-1629
      • Decade 1630-1639
      • Decade 1640-1649
      • Decade 1650-1659
      • Years 1660-1679
      • Years 1680-1699
    • 18th Century >
      • Decade 1700-1709
      • Decade 1710-1719
      • Decade 1720-1729
      • Decade 1730-1739
      • Decade 1740-1749
      • Decade 1750-1759
      • Decade 1760-1769
      • Decade 1770-1779 >
        • 1776
      • Decade 1780-1789 >
        • 1787
      • Decade 1790-1799 >
        • 1792
    • 19th Century >
      • Decade 1800-1809
      • Decade 1810-1819
      • Decade 1820-1829
      • Decade 1830-1839
      • Decade 1840-1849
      • Decade 1850-1859
      • Decade 1860-1869
      • Decade 1870-1879 >
        • 1877
        • 1878
        • 1879
      • Decade 1880-1889 >
        • 1880
        • 1881
        • 1882
        • 1883
        • 1884
        • 1885
        • 1886
        • 1887
        • 1888
        • 1889
      • Decade 1890-1899 >
        • 1890
        • 1891
        • 1892
        • 1893
        • 1894
        • 1895
        • 1896
        • 1897
    • 20th Century >
      • Decade 1900-1909 >
        • 1901
        • 1902
        • 1903
        • 1904
        • 1905
        • 1906
        • 1907
        • 1908
        • 1909
      • Decade 1910-1919 >
        • 1910
        • 1911
        • 1912
        • 1913
        • 1914
        • 1915
        • 1916
        • 1917
        • 1918
        • 1919
      • Decade 1920-1929 >
        • 1920
        • 1921
        • 1922
        • 1923
        • 1924
        • 1925
        • 1926
        • 1927
        • 1928
        • 1929
      • Decade 1930-1939 >
        • 1930
        • 1931
        • 1932
        • 1933
        • 1934
        • 1935
        • 1936
        • 1937
        • 1938
        • 1939
      • Decade 1940-1949 >
        • 1941
        • 1942
        • 1943
        • 1945
        • 1946
        • 1947
        • 1948
        • 1949
      • Decade 1950-1959 >
        • 1950
        • 1951
        • 1952
        • 1953
        • 1954
        • 1955
        • 1956
        • 1957
        • 1958
        • 1959
      • Decade 1960-1969 >
        • 1960
        • 1961
        • 1962
        • 1963
        • 1964
        • 1965
        • 1966
        • 1967
        • 1968
        • 1969
      • Decade 1970-1979 >
        • 1970
        • 1971
        • 1972
        • 1973
        • 1974
        • 1975
        • 1976
        • 1977
        • 1978
        • 1979
      • Decade 1980-1989 >
        • 1980
        • 1981
        • 1982
        • 1983
        • 1984
        • 1985
        • 1986
        • 1987
        • 1988
        • 1989
      • Decade 1990-1999 >
        • 1990
        • 1991
        • 1992
        • 1993
        • 1994
        • 1995
        • 1996
        • 1997
        • 1998
        • 1999
    • 21st Century >
      • Decade 2000-2009 >
        • 2000
        • 2001
        • 2002
        • 2003
        • 2004
        • 2005
        • 2006
        • 2007
        • 2008
        • 2009
      • Decade 2010-2019 >
        • 2010
        • 2011
        • 2012
        • 2013
        • 2014
        • 2015
        • 2017
        • 2018
      • 2020 to now >
        • 2021
        • 2022
  • Ancient Painting
    • Flemish Art >
      • Pieter II Brueghel
      • Jan Brueghel
    • Rubens
    • Rembrandt
    • Early Still Life
    • Oil on Copper
  • 18th Century Painting
  • Ancient Drawing
  • Art on Paper
  • Sculpture
    • Bust
    • Ancient Sculpture >
      • Roman Sculpture
    • Italian Sculpture
    • French Sculpture >
      • Rodin
    • Sculpture by Painters
  • Women Artists
    • Ancient Art by Women
    • O'Keeffe
    • Lempicka
    • Martin
    • Mitchell
    • Yayoi Kusama
    • Brown
  • Furniture
    • Chairs and Seats
    • Colonial Furniture
    • Ancient French Furniture
    • Modern Furniture >
      • Art Deco
      • Modern Tables
  • Prints
    • Ancient Prints
    • Modern Prints
  • Photo
    • Old Photos >
      • Travel Photos
      • Early French Photo
    • Photos 1900s 1910s
    • Photos 1920s 1930s
    • Photos 1970s 1980s
    • Sherman
    • Gursky
  • The Man
  • The Woman
  • Children
  • Man and Woman
  • Groups
  • Self Portrait
    • Self Portrait 2nd page
  • Nude
  • Abstract Art - 2nd page
  • Landscape
    • Alps
  • Cities
    • Venice
    • Paris
  • Flowers
    • Bouquet
  • Animals
    • Bird
    • Cats and Lions
    • Horse
  • Tabletop
  • Music and Dance in Art
    • Music in Old Painting
  • Sport in Art
  • Orientalism
    • Orientalism 1830-1900
  • France
    • French Painting before 1860
    • Pissarro
    • Manet
    • Degas
    • Cézanne
    • Monet >
      • Monet before 1879
      • Monet 1879-1887
      • Series by Monet
      • London and Venice
      • Bassin aux Nymphéas
    • Renoir
    • Caillebotte
    • Gauguin
    • Seurat
    • Signac
    • Lautrec
    • Matisse
    • Léger
    • Klein
    • Lalanne
    • Post War French Art
  • Italy
    • Canaletto
    • Modigliani
    • Fontana
    • Mappa by Boetti
  • Swiss Painting
  • Giacometti
    • Giacometti 1947-53
    • Femme Debout
  • Bacon
    • Bacon before 1963
    • Bacon 1963-70
    • Later Bacons
    • Head Triptych
  • UK - 2nd page
    • Ancient England
    • George III
    • British Royals
    • Turner >
      • Watercolor by Turner
    • Freud >
      • Early Freud
    • Hockney
    • Doig
    • Hirst
    • Banksy
  • Richter
    • Richter before 1983
  • Germany - 2nd page
    • Ancient Germany >
      • Cranach
    • Marc
    • Kirchner
  • Van Gogh
  • Mondrian
  • De Kooning
  • Magritte
    • Early Magritte
  • Belgium 2nd page
  • Ancient Spain
  • Picasso
    • Picasso before 1907
    • Picasso 1907-1931
    • Marie-Thérèse
    • Picasso later 1930s
    • Picasso 1940-1960
    • Picasso in Mougins
    • Prints by Picasso
  • Gris
  • Miro
  • Klimt
  • Schiele
  • USA
    • US Independence
    • Development of USA
    • President Lincoln
    • US Painting before 1940 >
      • Sargent
    • Hopper
    • Rockwell
    • Calder
    • Rothko >
      • Early Rothko
      • Rothko 1957-70
    • Still
    • Newman
    • Guston
    • Pollock
    • Diebenkorn
    • Lichtenstein >
      • Lichtenstein after 1965
    • Warhol >
      • USA by Warhol
      • Celebrities by Warhol >
        • Elvis and Liz
      • Later Warhols
      • Prints by Warhol >
        • Warhol Prints 2nd page
    • Twombly
    • Johns
    • Ruscha
    • Koons
    • Marshall
    • Wool
    • Basquiat
    • Bradford
  • Wild West
  • Central and South Americas
    • Mexico
  • China
    • Ritual Bronzes
    • Song
    • Yuan
    • Ming
    • Early Qing
    • Qianlong
    • Modern China >
      • Qi Baishi
      • Zhang Daqian >
        • Zhang Daqian before 1965
      • Fu Baoshi
      • Sanyu >
        • Sanyu before 1950
      • Li Keran
      • Wu Guanzhong
      • Zao Wou-Ki
      • Cui Ruzhuo
    • Chinese Porcelain >
      • Song to Yuan Porcelain
      • Ming Porcelain
      • Qing Porcelain
    • Chinese Art
    • Mountains in China
    • Chinese Calligraphy
    • Chinese Furniture
    • Imperial Seal
    • Chinese Dragon
    • Jadeite
  • India
    • Gaitonde
    • Modern India
  • Persia
    • Safavid Carpets
  • Yoshitomo Nara
  • Russia and Eastern Europe
    • Russia 1700-1900
    • Kandinsky
    • Brancusi
    • Chagall
    • Soutine
    • Ghenie
  • Munch
    • Prints by Munch
  • Egypt
  • Tropical Africa
    • Congo
    • Gabon
    • Mask
  • Tribal Oceania
    • Easter Island
  • Australia
    • Colonial Australia
  • Islam
  • Buddhism
    • Early Buddhist Sculpture
    • Tibet and Nepal
  • Judaica
  • Christianity
    • Madonna and Child
  • Cars
    • Birth of Automobile
    • Cars of the 1910s
    • Cars of the 1920s
    • Cars of the 1930s >
      • Cars 1930-33
      • Cars 1934-35
      • Cars 1936-37
      • Cars 1938-39
    • Post War Cars
    • Cars of the 1950s >
      • Cars 1953-54
      • Cars 1955
      • Cars 1956-57
      • Cars 1958-59
    • Cars of the 1960s >
      • Cars 1960-61
      • Cars 1962-63
      • Cars 1964-65
      • Cars 1966-67
    • Cars 1970s 1980s
    • Supercars
    • Hypercars
    • Ferrari >
      • California Spider
      • Big Five
    • Alfa Romeo
    • Mercedes-Benz
    • Porsche
    • Aston Martin
    • Jaguar
    • McLaren
    • Bugatti
    • French Cars
    • Duesenberg
    • Ford and Shelby
    • Cars in Movies
  • Motorcycles
  • Jewels
    • White Diamond
    • Pink Diamond
    • Blue Diamond
    • Jewels - 2nd page
    • Cartier
  • Silverware
    • Old Silverware
  • Coin
    • Antique Coins >
      • Roman Coins
    • Coins 1000-1775
    • Coins 1776-92
    • Coins 1793-1819
    • Coins 1820-49
    • Coins 1850-69
    • Coins 1870-99
    • 20th century Coins
    • US Gold Coins
    • Silver Dollar
    • Cent and Dime
    • British Coins
    • Japanese Coins
    • Chinese Coins
  • Paper Currency
  • Medal and Decoration
  • Time Pieces
    • Clocks >
      • Old Clocks
    • Mechanical Craft ca 1800
    • Jaquet-Droz and Followers
    • Modern Watches
    • New Watches >
      • OnlyWatch
    • Patek Philippe >
      • Patek Philippe before 1950
      • World Time
      • Perpetual Calendar
    • Rolex
    • French Time Pieces
    • Daniels
  • Glass and Crystal
    • Glass before 1900
    • Tiffany Studios
  • Terracotta and Porcelain
    • Meissen
  • Textiles
  • Books
    • Incunabula
    • 16th Century Books
    • 17th Century Books
    • Fine Books 1700-1850
    • The Birds of America
  • Literature
    • Literature in French
  • Poems and Lyrics
  • Autograph
  • Manuscript
    • Paleography
    • Illuminated Christian Manuscript
  • Political Writing
  • Comic Books
  • Illustration Art
    • Tintin
  • Travel
  • Ancient Maps
  • Space
  • Movies
  • Screen Worn
  • Music
  • Musical Instrument
    • Stradivarius
    • Violin 2nd page
    • Guitar
    • Chinese Instrument
  • The Beatles
  • Poster
  • Sport
    • Sport Equipment
    • Sport Document
    • Sport Rewards
    • Sport Cards >
      • Sport Images before 1942
      • T206 Wagner
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Sport Cards 1942-92
      • Topps Mantle
      • Modern Sport Cards
    • Baseball >
      • Baseball Bat
      • Baseball Jersey
      • Babe Ruth
      • Lou Gehrig
    • Basketball >
      • Michael Jordan
      • Kobe Bryant
    • Ice Hockey
    • Sport 2nd page
  • Olympic Games
  • Origins of Sports
  • Historical Arms
    • Blade and Armour
    • Colt in Lifetime
    • Later Colts
    • Winchester
    • Firearms
  • Toys
  • Doll
  • Games
  • Stamps
    • US Stamps
    • Inverted Jenny
  • Inventions
  • Leica
  • Sciences
    • Ancient Science
    • Sciences 1600-1800
    • Astronomy
    • Physics
    • Medicine
  • Dinosaur
  • Computing
  • Nobel Medals
    • Nobel in Medicine
  • Whisky
    • Whisky 2nd page
  • Wine
  • Plus
    • Plus 17C Art
    • Plus 18C Art
    • Plus 1910s
    • Plus 1982 Basquiat
    • Plus Ferrari
    • Plus US Cars
    • Plus Qing Porcelain
    • Plus Tribal
  • Work in Progress

Colonial Furniture

including colonial style after the Independence
​not including Old clocks
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
​See also : Furniture  Chairs and seats
Chronology : 1770-1779  1792

Rhode Island

1
​1745 Desk-and-Bookcase by Christopher Townsend
1999 SOLD for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's

Newport was one of the busiest ports in colonial America. It was one of the strategic points of the slave trade. They distilled rum with sugar cane from the Caribbean, then exchanged the drink for African people.

The maritime business was conducive to the delivery of mahogany, and Newport became a major center of furniture manufacturing.

Job and Christopher Townsend, members of the Quaker community of Newport RI, establish themselves as carpenters in 1723 and are also joiners. At that time Newport needs to manage its economic and religious independence from Boston. The two brothers become cabinetmakers.

They work together. The earliest reference to their new activity is a letter from Christopher in 1733 describing a desk-and-bookcase that Job had just sold. For nearly a century, this family, closely linked to the Goddard, Casey and Spencer families, will produce top quality mahogany furniture.

Attribution is difficult. Only one known piece, which is also a desk-and-bookcase, bears the label of Job Townsend. Christopher Townsend's previously unknown signature was discovered in 1998 on another desk-and-bookcase that was in France for nearly two centuries. Its traceability is perfect : it had been delivered to a minister in Cambridge MA and exported circa 1800 by his grandson in charge of a permanent diplomatic mission in France.

This piece of furniture in superb condition is typical of the best craftsmanship of American cabinetmakers of the 1740s. It was mounted in marked silver by a very young goldsmith named Samuel Casey who established his business in 1745 in Exeter RI after an apprenticeship in Boston. This is the only known American piece of furniture with solid silver handles. It was sold for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's on January 16, 1999.

2
​1756 Highboy by John Townsend
2012 SOLD for $ 3.6M by Sotheby's

In the ancient meaning of that word, a masterpiece (or chef d'oeuvre) is the piece with which a craftsman terminates his apprenticeship. This work demonstrates his know how and opens to him the right of creating his own workshop.

A high chest of drawers (or highboy) is signed by John Townsend, located in Newport (Rhode Island) and dated 1756. This craftsman who was to become the most renowned cabinetmaker of Newport was then 23 years old, and this piece is one of the first pieces of furniture signed by him.

It is a mahogany chest of Queen Anne style, similar to examples made in Philadelphia at the same time. Measuring 2.25 x 1.02 x 0.54 m, it has carved higher and lower rails and high claw feet enclosing balls.

It remained in its original condition and has always belonged to the same family. It was sold for $ 3.6M from a lower estimate of $ 2M by Sotheby's on January 21, 2012, lot 186.

3
​1755-1765 Cabinet by John Townsend
2012 SOLD for $ 3.45M by Christie's

Developed at Newport, the block-and-shell style is a storage cabinet inspired by the Chippendale style. The square front is divided into three sections: a central part and two stacks of square drawers, the Blocks. Each section is decorated with a carved shell in its upper part.

On January 20, 2012, Christie's sold for $ 3.45M a small cabinet 70 x 65 x 33 cm. Made in mahogany between 1755 and 1765, it is one of the earliest examples of block and shell and one of very few to have been signed by John Townsend.

4
1763 Tea Table by John Goddard
2005 SOLD for $ 8.4M by Sotheby's

Established in Newport RI, John Goddard, who married in 1746 the daughter of Job Townsend, produces mahogany furniture with an exquisite carving. His serpentine furniture with ball and claw feet is reflecting an awareness of French taste as interpreted by English cabinetmakers.

An early mahogany slab table of Queen Anne style, signed by Goddard and documented by its 1755 bill of sale, was sold for $ 2.1M by Christie's on January 20, 2012, lot 139. The grain of the mahogany was deliberately chosen to maximize the elegance. That model is requiring marble tops that were shaped to fit the frames. This example keeps it original marble top.

Not far from Newport, in Providence RI, the four Brown brothers, working in partnership until 1771, make their fortune in the maritime trade.

Weddings are an opportunity to acquire furniture. The transactions between John Brown and John Goddard in 1760 are documented by a statement of account and a progress report.

This supply included a tea table with scalloped edges. In 1763 two other tables were documented by Goddard in similar letters, one for a close associate of the Four Browns and the other for one of their cousins. These deliveries within a closed circle of customers suggest that the model was exclusive.

In 1762 Nicholas Brown, the head of the family, is married in his turn. He orders his table. A year later the younger brother rebukes John Goddard for having managed competing priorities. The table was delivered to Nicholas in the fall of 1763. Satisfied with this acquisition, Nicholas Brown had a replica of this piece made two years later. This one is not documented but the almost perfect conformity of the copy is attributed to the entourage of John Goddard.

Both tables had been in Brown's lineage, together for three generations and then reunited again in 1970. The table provided by Goddard, in remarkable condition, was sold for $ 8.4M by Sotheby's on January 22 2005, lot 809. The replica was sold for $ 910K by Sotheby's on January 21, 2017, lot 4231.

5
​1765 Bureau Table by John Goddard
2011 SOLD for $ 5.7M by Christie's

A mahogany bureau table in the Newport Chippendale block and shell style is identified by a mid 19th century pencil label in a drawer as having been made by John Goddard for his daughter Catherine. Indeed a desk-and-bookcase with very similar shell carving was attributed by Thomas Goddard to his father John and dated 1761 by him. Several construction details are also consistent with John's workmanship.

This model is also referred as kneehole bureau or desk table. This example made ca 1765 when Catherine was 8 years old is 90 cm high, 80 cm wide and 50 cm deep.

It was sold for $ 5.7M from a lower estimate of $ 700K by Christie's on  January 21, 2011, 
lot 92.

6
​1772-1785 Desk-and-Bookcase attributed to Daniel Spencer
1989 SOLD for $ 12M by Christie's

The Block and Shell style, denoting the ornaments of the drawers, appears around 1755 in Newport RI in the furniture made by the Townsend-Goddard dynasty of cabinetmakers.

The Chippendale style succeeds the Queen Anne. John Goddard is probably the first to make the desk-and-bookcase which is an adaptation of the Block and Shell to the Chippendale. These pieces of furniture are not signed and very difficult to attribute to one or another master in that family. Nine examples in the six-shell design have survived, all of them in mahogany.

The Brown brothers were wealthy merchants and statesmen of Providence RI, involved in slave trade and smuggling. A Newport-style desk-and-bookcase that belonged to John Brown, 272 × 113 × 64 cm, is kept at Yale University. The piece that belonged to Nicholas Brown, 287 × 108 × 64 cm, is very similar. It had remained in the direct descent of its first owner and was sold for $ 12M by Christie's on June 3, 1989.

For the attribution of these two pieces of furniture, it was noticed that Daniel Spencer, a nephew of John Goddard, had left Newport and established a workshop for the making of cabinets and chairs in Providence in 1772. The terminus ante quem is his imprisonment for debt in 1785. He ended his career in Kentucky.
Furniture
Decade 1770-1779

7
1792 Chest of Drawers by John Townsend
1998 SOLD for $ 4.7M by Christies

A mahogany chest with four drawers in Chippendale block and shell style is attributed by a printed label to John Townsend, Newport, with a handwritten inscription to Sarah Slocum dated to 1792. The date comes just after the death of Sarah's father, a quaker fellow of Townsend and a long time resident in Newport, and her marriage at the age of 21.

It was sold for $ 4.7M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M by Christie's on June 18, 1998, lot 151. It is 86 cm high, 91 cm wide and 48 cm deep..
1792

Philadelphia

1
1750 Footstool
2008 SOLD for $ 5.2M by Sotheby's

The Queen Anne style brought to England lighter pieces of furniture, skilfully carved in richly toned woods. From the 1730s the high classes in Boston and Philadelphia enjoy this highly elegant style.  Tables and seats display signature S-shaped outward turned legs.

A footstool 40 cm high made ca 1750 in Philadelphia was sold for $ 5.2M from a lower estimate of $ 200K by Sotheby's on September 26, 2008, lot 117. Made in walnut, it displays a dark rich possibly original surface and has been reupholstered in a period correct fabric.

It has all the Queen Anne features including the paneled foot pads. The serpentine shape of the seat rail is unique of its kind in colonial and world furniture.
Chairs and Seats

2
1755 Armchair
2006 SOLD for $ 2.26M by Sotheby's

Founded by William Penn, Philadelphia meaning the city of brotherly friendship is the center of an intense intellectual activity keenly animated by Benjamin Franklin. A group of walnut armchairs is particularly appealing the historians because they are the witnesses of these learned societies, but they have not yet unveiled the circumstances of their origin.

These pieces are scattered and nothing is known of their history before their separation. Five of them are numbered : II, III, IIII, V and VIII, with the matching frame numbers except for chair VIII which is fitted with frame I.

Their Queen Anne style was common in Philadelphia. The elegance of these luxury seats is obtained by the carefully rounded sculpture of their wood elements. The complex assembly is reinforced with iron in the most fragile areas. Their overall height, long elbows and hollowed decorated back confirm that they constitute a single group, certainly executed from the same block of highly figured walnut.

The comparison with other individual seats including side chairs leaves no doubt on the fact that they were manufactured in Philadelphia in the eighteenth century. The are the only group of its kind from which examples have survived.

The highest known number, VIII, suggests that they have been designed for the use of a community or a club. The name of the great bibliophile James Logan, who was also a mayor of Philadelphia, was proposed but the argument about such a provenance is not based on period documents.

Chair V was sold for $ 2.26M by Sotheby's on October 7, 2006 from a lower estimate of $ 500K, lot 318. Chair IIII was sold for $ 750K by Christie's on January 21, 2022, lot 358. Chair II with some elements replaced was sold for $ 227K by Christie's on January 24, 2025, lot 563.

A unique unnumbered armchair is known. Its final characteristics are identical to those of the other four units and it comes undoubtedly from the same original operation. Some holes to facilitate the assembly, present on the other chairs, are missing to this one, opening the interesting hypothesis that this piece would be a prototype for the series. It was sold for $ 760K by Sotheby's on April 19, 2023, lot 41.

The set may be dated around 1755, which corresponds to the period of preparation of the Philadelphia public library following the very generous legacy made by Logan.

3
1760 Tea Table
2007 SOLD for $ 6.8M by Christie's

The second half of the eighteenth century saw a rapid economic growth in Boston and Philadelphia. Politically Philadelphia, thanks to its central position inside the colonies, will play the major role at the time of independence.

The higher bourgeoisie of Philadelphia welcomed the mahogany furniture in Chippendale style. Curiously, the best cabinet makers have not been identified and their achievements have been grouped under later coined pseudonyms.

The tea table with tilt top and scalloped edge is one of the most stunning models from Philadelphia's colonial furniture. Their carving is abundant and extremely careful.

The appearance of an unpublished piece of furniture in perfect condition in direct line from Philadelphia's notable families is an important event, especially when these pieces have been normally maintained without being retouched.

This is the case of the tea table from Fisher-Fox provenance carved by "Garver" around 1760. It was sold for $ 6.8M from a lower estimate of $ 2M by Christie's on October 3, 2007, lot 94.

On January 31, 2015, Keno sold for $ 1.9M the Potter-Crouch-Jordan specimen executed at the same period by "Spike", in a similar conservation status, and which is also a new discovery. Both pieces are very similar, and it is quite possible that these anonymous Spike and Garver were sharing the same shop.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.