$120,000
Federal Mahogany Carved and Inlaid Lady's Secretary-bookcase, attributed to Thomas Seymour, Boston, c. 1807-12, the decorative eglomise painting attributed to John Ritto Penniman, the turnings possibly by Henry and/or Thomas Ayling. some brasses replaced, (minor imperfections), ht. 76 3/4, wd. 37 1/2, dp. 19 3/4 in. Provenance: John Bryant III (1780-1865), a Boston China Trade Merchant, and his wife Mary Cleveland (Smith) Bryant (1784-1860). Presumably to their son John Bryant IV (1811-1847) and his second wife Mary Ann (Lee) Bryant. To their daughter Julia Bryant (1847-1901), who married Brigadier General Charles Jackson Paine (1833-1916), a railroad magnate and yachtsman, of 87 Mount Vernon Street, on March 26, 1867. To their daughter Georgia Paine Fisher Howland. To her son Charles Paine Fisher. Estate of Charles P. Fisher. Note: The lady's secretary and bookcase was a cultural badge signifying a Boston lady of refinement and education during the Federal period. Mary Cleveland (Smith) Bryant (1784-1860) was such a lady. She had been well-educated as daughter of Rev. John Smith, a professor of Ancient and Middle Eastern Languages at Dartmouth College, and was widely read. It was probably purchased around the time of, or a few years after, her marriage in late 1807 to John Bryant III (1780-1865). He was the son of John Bryant II, the Deputy Commissary of Military Stores at the Federal Armory in Springfield. The elegant bookcase provided space for the increasingly afford Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2013-10-27
