$108,000
Federal Carved Mahogany and Bird's-eye Maple Veneer Dressing Chest, attributed to Thomas Seymour, possibly with John Seymour, Boston, c. 1809-14, with gilt and glazed leafage by John Penniman, hardware original, probably original surface, (minor imperfections), ht. 70, case wd. 39, case dp. 20 1/2 in. Dressing tables with integral mirrors above originated as a distinct form in France in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These typically had no drawer, or only one, below, and only rarely a small set of set-back drawers on the top. These designs were adapted in the early Republic in the United States by Thomas Seymour shortly after he opened his Boston Furniture Warehouse along Boston Common were fashionable new houses were being built. The form was made almost exclusively in Boston by his shop. Very few examples can be documented to other makers, only one to another city. Thomas Seymour's innovative adaptations added a small removable case of set-back drawers above to which the mirror bracket assembly is mortised for four or five neat mortises. This upper drawer box slides onto the mid-top from the rear using dovetail-edged cleats affixed to the bottom the drawer unit. These cleats engage in dovetail-edged moldings affixed to the top of the lower case. His versions also added multiple drawers to the main lower case in varying arrangements, most often with two narrow drawers over two full-width drawers as found on the example offered for sale. Seymour Read more…
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2012-10-28
