Beschreibung:

The Kindig Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Desk-and-BookcasePhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaCirca 1765
Desk and bookcase associated.
Height 101 in. by Width 47 1/4 in. by Depth 25 in.Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact americana@sothebys.com LiteratureMorrison H. Heckscher and Leslie Greene Bowman, American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament, (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1992), no. 146, p. 208.ExhibitedMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York, American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament, January 26 – May 17, 1992.Catalogue noteWith its portrait finial bust, acanthus carved pierced pediment, and fretwork frieze, this desk and bookcase displays exceptional carving executed by one of Philadelphia’s most talented Colonial carvers. It was for the better part of a century the personal desk of both father and son.
The tradition of placing busts of authors over bookcases with their works was popular in English libraries of the 18th century and emulated by Philadelphians on their desk and bookcases. Portrait busts were available in Philadelphia by 1765, when the carvers Bernard and Jugiez advertised “a great variety of figures, large and small busts in plaster of Paris and brackets for ditto.” In 1769, Edmund Physick, John Penn’s attorney, bought “three Carved Mahogany Brackets, two Busts & a Figure of Milton.”1
The finial bust on this example is of a young man rather than an author or philosopher. It is especially stylishly rendered with an upright aristocratic stance, long neck, classical drapery, and fine embroidered clothing. This bust was included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament and illustrated in the accompany catalogue by Morrison H. Heckscher and Leslie Greene Bowman.
1 Morrison H. Heckscher and Leslie Greene Bowman, American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1992), p. 205.