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AMERICAN ORIGINALS
Chippendale
Inlaid Box
Linked to
Wright’s Tavern
.....sale pending
Boston area, ca. 1760–1790. Engraved silver nameplate “Melicent Jarvis.”
As a child growing up in Concord during the American Revolution, and later residing in Wright’s Tavern, Melicent Jarvis lived amid the unfolding legacy of the Revolution.
Link to Wright’s Tavern: Melicent Hosmer Jarvis (1768–1826) born in Concord, Massachusetts, married Deacon Francis Jarvis (1768-1840) in 1789. In 1793, Jarvis purchased Wright’s Tavern, celebrated for its vital role in the Revolution, where the Jarvis’ operated a bakery and raised their family. Wright’s Tavern is renowned as the 1774 meeting place of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, where John Hancock and Samuel Adams led discussions of independence. On April 19, 1775, following the Battle of Lexington (the “Shot Heard Round the World”) Concord’s Minutemen gathered there before challenging the British at the North Bridge. Later that day, the tavern served as headquarters for British Major John Pitcairn.
The Box: With distinctive Boston-area ogee bracket feet, this top-shelf Chippendale writing or valuables box is in mahogany with chestnut bottom board. The cockbeaded lid features an oval panel within double string inlay, centered by figured radial veneers framed by a cross-hatched border. The brass bale handle encloses the silver nameplate. Approximately 11 inches wide, 7 inches tall, and 7¼ inches deep. Retaining its original key and in outstanding condition.
This beautiful box, engraved with Melicent’s name, embodies both the skill of fine 18th-century craftsmanship and a tangible connection to one of the most storied historic landmarks of America’s founding era. Melicent and Francis rest in Concord’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Wright’s Tavern is designated as a National Historic Landmark.
AMERICAN ORIGINALS
18th Century
Painted Firkin
.....SOLD
New England, probably Hingham, Massachusetts, ca. 1780.
A rare Revolutionary War–generation firkin in its original thinly applied and beautifully worn sage-green paint, made of pine and hardwoods. Expertly coopered with staved sides, a shaped bentwood swing-handle, and joinery secured by rosehead and T-head nails with wooden pegs.
This classic early example is a forerunner to the later 19th-century Hingham firkins produced in great quantity. Its form reflects the hand and imagination of an initial designer, practical yet graceful, embodying early American ideals of utility, simplicity, and endurance. Sustainability at its finest, it carries the character and beauty of age while remaining ready for centuries more service.
A desirable small size, and broad base, just 7 inches high to the lid, 11 inches to the top of the handle, an object you can hold today as its first Revolutionary-era owner once did.
Provenance: Sam Forsythe, Columbus, Ohio; personal collection of David Schorsch, Woodbury, Connecticut.
AMERICAN ORIGINALS Exceptional Coastal Riverscape or Inlet
New England, ca. 1820.
Likely Portland Maine.
Watercolor, pen & ink, on paper.
This painting excels with boldly saturated blues and verdant greens and a composition rich with cool vignettes, featuring a large ocean sailing ship, flying the American flag, likely safely anchored from the Atlantic within the river; a foreground young woman “Hope” (with anchor) in front of a large memorial with flaming urn below a stylized willow; a riverside compound of buildings with central clock-tower, a sailboat with formally attired young man and woman being rowed by a gentleman (perhaps their chaperone), and a pair of stylized swans (lower left).
Note how the foreground and townscape shorelines are shaped to emulate waves, and the complex sponging of the tree leafing.
Superb condition with minor foxing at top. Long ago (now lost) accompanied by a paper signed "Mary Louise Mussey", likely the artist.
In a gilt frame that is likely original, about 17 ¾ inches wide x 14 tall.
Provenance includes a private midwestern collection; Jon and Rebecca Zoler, Sotheby’s 2005; private Portland Maine collection; F.O. Bailey, 1988.
AMERICAN ORIGINALS
JOHN CONGER
Superior Carved
Cake Board
....SOLD
A Distinctly American
Art Form!
Probably New York City, ca.1825-1835, of the finest one-board, very dense, mahogany.
Masterfully carved in remarkable detail--used to impress the carving into dough, often gingerbread-to create a dazzling pastry. Cake boards (aka prints), cookie boards, and pastry wheels by Conger were made for professional bakers, well-to-do households, restaurants/hotels, and US Government officials for important events, especially for New Years Day celebrations.
One of Conger’s finest, this cake board features a man and women within a carved oval looking inward toward many elements that communicate positive emotions such as hospitality, prosperity, love, and abundance. (A similarly attired man on a Conger board at Colonial Williamsburg depicts John Quincy Adams in 1825). Features include the Federal urn, wheat, love birds, roses, cornucopia, strawberries, acorns, thistle, sunflower, and pineapple, each having symbolic significance. Look closely for the extra-ordinary details, such as the decoration down the man’s pant leg, or the lady’s hair and dress.
Impressed “J. CONGER” several times on the ends. Since many of his boards were unsigned, this example carries particular importance.
Works by Conger are highly prized and represented in major collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Old Sturbridge Village, New York Historical Society, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and Winterthur. You may now have this special piece in your collection.
For reference, see The Magazine Antiques, December,1990, "Cake Boards" by Louise Belden; The Clarion, The New Year's Cake Print, A Distinctly American Art Form, fall, 1989; 300 years of Kitchen Collectables, Franklin, "Catching John Conger”.
Condition is superb. Original surface. Measuring an impressive 26 inches x 15 x 1, this large-format cake board is a rarity and stands as a significant example of American folk art. From a highly selective Connecticut collection.
..
REMARKABLE
GAMEBOARD
.....RARE!!
Landscape Vignettes
Found in upstate New York and likely painted there, ca. 1870-1900.
Principally parcheesi with secondary chess.
This elaborately hand-painted gameboard shows influence from the Hudson River School, a 19th-century American art movement known for its romanticized portrayals of nature and featuring aspirational European motifs.
Each corner, and home-area, are small painted stories rather than stars or geometrics typically found in parcheesi boards. Clockwise from top left: A maiden in white by a stream, evoking purity and reflection/Three figures in a boat fending off a menacing beast-related to 19th century adventure stories /A rider beneath a palm-like tree, evoking the exotic and unexplored/A dramatic mountainous landscape. The central "HOME" may show the Hudson River, with a castle-like structure, a theme borrowed from European Romantic art to suggest history and grandeur. MORE.....
AMERICAN ORIGINALS
STRIKING RARE
INLAID
CHERRY
CANDLESTAND
.....sale pending
Attributed to
NATHAN LUMBARD
Massachusetts, Worcester County (Sturbridge).....ca. 1800
Cherrywood, with serpentine-shaped top of figured cherrywood, with striped-inlaid hearts at the corners and centered by an inlaid pinwheel. The column features a deeply carved spiral fluted urn, supported by a tripod base with distinctive spurred knees.
As per Clarke Pearce (The Language of Nathan Lumbard, Antiques and Fine Art, March 2018) “Around 1790, there was a major shift afoot in cabinet shops across greater Worcester County. Printed British pattern books like George Hepplewhite’s Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide carried many new design ideas deep into the agrarian hinterlands. A new generation of young, ambitious artisans embraced the Neoclassical style, changing forever the way the region’s cabinetmakers went about their business. By the late 1790s, cabinetmakers all over central Massachusetts were making furniture in the Neoclassical style with inlaid decoration”.
Further, as stated by Chipstone about Nathan Lumbard: “….superior craftsmanship, love of complex inlay and an impeccable sense of design and proportion”.
Excellent original condition with just a minor old repair at the outer edge of one top-lobe. Original dry surface.
Diminutive size of about 25 5/8 inches tall.
A similar candlestand attributed to Lombard, yet lacking the heart-corner inlays, sold at Sotheby’s, January, 1999, lot 755, selling for much more. Also see: Crafting Excellence. The Furniture of Nathan Lumbard and His Circle, Winterthur, Christine Jackson, Brock Jobe, Clark Pearce
Delightful Folk Art
Double-Portrait
Brother and Sister
Canandaigua, New York, circa 1838-1840.
Beautifully composed and rendered in watercolor with graphite on paper. Note the considerable painterly skill, showing fine crisp detail, yet with folky attributes that we love.
Faint inscription on the back, and also from the original frame backing paper, indicate that the children are Jane McConnell (aged 9 years) and Willliam McConnell (aged 7 years). William, in blue dress with riding crop, and Jane, in long flowing dress with puffy sleeves and her hair styled in ringlets, are composed around their beloved and extra-nice rocking horse, a common child’s toy of that period.
The very capable artist was one of two sisters: Catherine or Agnes Jeffrey, both watercolor artists, who had immigrated to America from Edinburgh, Scotland to help take care of their brother’s children in Canandaigua, about 35 miles south of Rochester.
A nearly identical portrait is in the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, labeled circa 1838-Agnes Jeffrey (so the attribution to Catherine on this one may be in error). The NY State University at Geneseo has a Jeffrey Collection, having had an exhibition in 1976 entitled "Art of Four Generations of Jeffrey Family Women".
Exceptional condition with very minor foxing. Period (not original) gilt frame about 10 3/8 inches x 8 5/8. From a superb private collection of American folk art portraits.
THE COMPASS ARTIST
Paint Decorated Box
Important Provenance
....SOLD
Lancaster County, PA, ca. 1800-1840. One of just three dozen boxes known by this celebrated artist, held in private collections or museums including Winterthur (which has 8) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The name “Compass Artist” is an attribution coined by collectors and scholars based on the use of a draftsman’s compass to lay out decorative motifs. The identity of the Compass Artist remains unknown, though analysis suggests he may have been trained as a joiner or cabinetmaker within the Pennsylvania German tradition, which emphasized both functionality and ornamentation. Comparisons have been made between the Compass Artist's work and those found in frakturs and dower chests, noting that the designs likely held symbolic meaning tied to protection, fertility, and prosperity.
As seen on this box, works by the Compass Artist are identified by a recognizable visual vocabulary: sharp scribed compass-work outlines; polychrome paint, especially Prussian-blue, Vermilion red, and white lead (the top white-field on this box is a rarity); tin hinges inserted through horizontal slits; dovetails bisected, sawn after making basic box shape; dimpled hasp and escutcheons; bottom attached with square wooden pegs.
Very good condition, overall minor wear. Unobtrusive shrinkage crack on domed lid. No inpainting or repairs. Large enough create an impact yet small enough that it can be placed almost anywhere. About 11 ¼ inches wide x 6 ¼ tall x 7 ½ deep.
REFERENCE: THE COMPASS ARTIST OF LANCASTER COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA, Wendy Cooper et al., American Furniture, Beckerdite, 2009, pp 62-87.
IMPORTANT PROVENANCE: Martha Bartlett, Washington, DC.
Notable
Paint Decorated Box
with Pennsylvania-German Symbolism
.....SOLD
Pennsylvania, possibly Lancaster area, ca. 1820–1840. A distinctive folk art box featuring original dry polychrome paint on poplar, with symbols rooted in Pennsylvania-German tradition.
The construction includes tin hinges set through slits in the back wall, a method similar to that of the Compass Artist, possibly indicating a direct influence or shared regional technique.
The slightly domed lid, hand-hewn rather than sawn, is adorned with stylized tulips and hex symbols. The prominent tulip, known as the Double Trinity Tulip, with its three petals, symbolizes both the Holy Trinity and the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, hallmarks of Pennsylvania German symbolism intended to bring good fortune and to ward off evil. The hex symbol was a folk expressions of hope, belief, and beauty, with occasional protective overtones.
Joinery by dovetails and wooden pegs. Excellent condition with just minor loss of a clasp, and a long-ago sliver at the bottom of the back. Just 5 ¼ inches long x 4 deep x 2 ½ tall.
Country Chippendale
Tea Table:
Bold Curly Maple Top
and Striking Marlborough Legs
.....sale pending
New England, circa 1750–1780.
A rare and especially fine example of 18th-century New England country craftsmanship, this compact tea table showcases the refined simplicity of rural Chippendale furniture.
The highly figured octagonal tiger maple top—crafted from a single board—has a rich patina with a soft, complex, varnish surface. The top overhangs in just the right proportion, joined to the apron with a mix of large wooden pegs and iron nails, and a hand-cut screw.
The table stands confidently on four long, deeply molded Marlborough legs—some of the best you’ll encounter—joined to the pit-sawn apron with classic mortise and tenon construction, secured by large, hand-carved wooden pegs. The legs and apron retain remnants of bittersweet paint over black, all well-worn and patinated, and mellowed by time.
Diminutive--can be placed almost anywhere--top measuring about 20 ½ inches by 30 ½; 28 inches tall. Fine condition; minor expected imperfections. Stands tall, straight, and full of character. A label underneath reads “Olivia Preston”.
I seldom acquire furniture—yet this table was so good it called my name.
ZEDIKIAH BELNAP
Portrait of
Sarah Dodge
Massachusetts, 1824
.....SOLD
Oil on wooden panel, painted in Sutton, Massachusetts, with strong attribution to Zedikiah Belknap (1781–1858).
On the reverse, inscribed in red paint-likely in Belknap’s own hand: "Mifs Sarah Dodge, age 23, AD 1824." The use of the long ‘S’ in Miss carries over from 18th century conventions.
Sarah Dodge (born 1801) came from a prominent Massachusetts family and was related to Edward Rawson, the first Secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Born in Auburn, Massachusetts, Zedikiah Belknap graduated from Dartmouth College in 1807. Despite having no formal art training, he became an itinerant portrait painter, working in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York City, and Massachusetts. He depicts Sarah in a half-length pose, slightly turned, wearing an elaborate sheer lace collar, a flowing shawl, and a fashionable hairstyle with striking curls. The quality (and then expense) of a portrait like this suggests it may have been commissioned for Sarah’s engagement or wedding.
The portrait shows beautifully. It has been professionally cleaned, with some touchup, primarily the blush on her right cheek. Housed in a fine period molded gilt frame about 33 5/8 inches tall × 28 ¼ inches wide. From a fine Northeast collection.