Beschreibung:

The James Read Fine and Rare Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Dressing TableCarving attributed to James Reynolds (c. 1736-1794)Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaCirca 1770
Appears to retain its original pierced brass hardware. Portion of underside of top shaved and fitted with cleats to correct warp. Left rear knee return of a later date.
Height 28 3/4 in. by Width 33 5/8 in. by Depth 19 3/4 in.Condition reportSecondary woods are poplar, yellow pine, and white pine. Retaining its original pierced brass hardware. Rear proper left knee return replaced. New corner blocks added to the underside of the top.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.ProvenanceAccording to family history, this dressing table descended from the original owner, James Read (1743-1822) of New Castle, Delaware and Philadelphia;To his daughter, Susanne Read Eckard (d. 1861) of Philadelphia;Thereafter in the Eckard family;Ginsberg and Levy, Inc., New York;Lesley and Emma Sheafer, New York;Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York;Sotheby’s, New York, Important Americana, January 15, 2004, sale 7959, lot 397.LiteratureCharles Simms, “A Fine 18th Century Philadelphia Lowboy,” American Collector 17 (March 1948); 5, 22;
Morrison Heckscher, American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vol. 1, (New York, 1985), pp. 252-53, no. 164.Catalogue noteRetaining its original pierced brass hardware, this dressing table has a history of descent in the Read family of New Castle, Delaware and Philadelphia and was believed to have been originally owned by Colonel James Read (1743-1822), one of the fathers of the American navy. It displays exceptional carving attributed to the Philadelphia carver, James Reynolds (c. 1736-1794), who executed the same gradually attenuated flower heads on a carving from which a chimney back made by Aetna Furnace in Burlington County, New Jersey was molded.1 James Reynolds was regularly contracted for his work by Thomas Affleck (1740-1795), the Philadelphia cabinetmaker who likely made this dressing table.
Four high chests of drawers and two dressing tables with similar construction and carving are known. One high chest with a history of ownership in the same branch of the James Read family is in the Sewell C. Biggs Museum and illustrated in Philip D. Zimmerman and Jennifer Faulds Goldsborough, The Sewell C. Biggs Collection of American Art (Iceland: Oddi Printing, 2002), no. 78. It is inscribed “Ja[?] Read” in chalk on the top of the lower case. It also has a paper label affixed to the top board of the lower section inscribed “Rev. J.R. Eckard, No. 5502 Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA.” as well as the script inscription “R. Eckard Easton, Pa.” Another high chest formerly in the collection of Winterthur Museum and now at the American Museum in Britain is illustrated in Joseph Downs, American Furniture, Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods in the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum (New York, 1952), no. 196. The third high chest originally in the collection of the New York Historical Society was sold at Sotheby’s, American Decorative Arts: The Property of the New-York Historical Society, January 29, 1995, sale 6661, lot 265. A fourth high chest is illustrated in a Valdemar F. Jacobsen advertisement in The Magazine Antiques (January 1974): p. 96. A dressing table from this group was sold at Parke- Bernet in January 1977, lot 1162. Another dressing table with a history in the Scott family was sold at Sotheby’s, Important Americana, January 17, 2019, sale 10005, lot 1434. The pieces in the group display the distinctive characteristics of a deeper long drawer in the lower case, two short drawers below flanking a shell-carved drawer, fluted quarter columns that end at the edge of the lower drawers rather than the top of the knee, use of double wooden pins and flattened ogee arch side skirts.
Colonel James Read was a son of Colonel John Read of Maryland and Delaware, and a brother of George Read, of Delaware, the signer of the Declaration of Independence and the framer of the Constitution of the United States. He was born at the family seat in New Castle County, Delaware, in 1743, and died in Philadelphia on December 31, 1822, at age 80. He was promoted from first lieutenant to colonel for distinguished services at the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown. On November 4, 1778, he was appointed by Congress one of the three commissioners of the navy for the Middle States; and on January 11, 1781, he was appointed by Congress as sole commissioner of the Navy. Colonel Read married Susanne Correy, of Chester County, Pennsylvania on July 9, 1770. This dressing table descended to their daughter, Susanne Read (died 1861), who married Joachim Frederic Eckard (died 1837), Danish consul of Philadelphia, on March 27, 1803. Susanne Eckard died in Philadelphia on December 3, 1861, leaving two sons — Dr. Frederick Eckard, and the Rev. Dr. James Read Eckard (1805-1887). The latter graduated from University of Pennsylvania and studied theology and graduated at the Princeton Divinity School. The paper label and inscription on the Sewell Biggs Museum high chest mentioned above indicates that he owned that high chest at one time.
1 Luke Beckerdite, “Pattern Carving in Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia,” American Furniture, edited by Luke Beckerdite (Hanover: Chipstone Foundation, 2014): fig. 42, p. 107.