Date: Fri 29-May-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: LAURAB

Quick Words:

Townsend

Full Text:

Christie's Snags Labeled Townsend Chest For June Sale

(W/1 Cut) - LB

NEW YORK CITY -- A block-and-shell carved mahogany chest of drawers, the last

in private hands bearing the label of Newport craftsman John Townsend

(1732-1809), will be auctioned at Christie's on June 18. It was made in 1792

for Sarah Slocum, the daughter of Quaker merchants and a member of one of the

port city's most prominent families.

"The proportions of this piece are satisfying due to the proper drawer ratio.

The superb original condition and finish add to its stature," Albert Sack

wrote in New Fine Points Of Furniture. The noted authority designated the

chest, which measures 34« by 36¬ by 19¬ inches, a "masterpiece." Though the

estimate is on request, Christie's is hoping for $1.5 to $2.5 million for the

Newport icon.

"We've been working very hard on this piece and just got it," acknowledged

John Hays, director of Christie's American furniture department. "It has old

surface and three gorgeous shells. The icing on the cake is the label and the

signatures." From the estate of Philadelphia-area physician William Serri, the

chest is nearly identical to another labeled example at Colonial Williamsburg,

and similar to a chest and a clock at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

One of nine known pieces of labeled John Townsend furniture, the chest

features the cabinetmaker's original label. On the inside of its top drawer,

it reads "made by John Townsend, Newport, November 20, 1792." The label is

also inscribed with Sarah Slocum's own signature as the first owner.

Two other labels in the top drawer tell its subsequent history. One is

inscribed by Joseph S. Tillinghast, the son of Sarah Slocum's first cousin.

The label reads "give to Lydia T. Conner," indicating his wish that the chest

be handed down to his daughter.

A second label indicates that the piece was loaned by Serri to "The Arts and

Crafts of Newport, Rhode Island, 1640-1820," an exhibition of furniture,

paintings, silver and other items organized by American furniture expert and

Newport historian, Ralph Carpenter, at the Nichols-Wanton-Hunter House in

Newport in the summer of 1953. Serri acquired the chest, which has also been

loaned to the State Department and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, from the

late Connecticut dealer John Walton, who is believed to have purchased it at

auction in New England.

The chest displays John Townsend's trademark details, such as the combination

of fluting and crosshatching at the center of the scallop shells and the

curlicues at the ends of the center shell. Original hardware and the lock and

key set signify that the casepiece was made to guard valuables.

Newport furniture holds the record for the most expensive American decorative

art ever auctioned. In 1987, Christie's sold the Nicholas Brown desk and

bookcase for $12.1 million. In 1996, Sotheby's auctioned an unmarked kneehole

desk attributed to Edmund Townsend for $3.6 million.

Highlights of the general sale include a Queen Anne carved cherrywood chest of

drawers from Connecticut, 1750-1780 (est $100/150,000). Its distinctive swan's

neck pediment and carved and incised decorative elements are hallmarks of

Eighteenth Century New London County cabinetmaking.

Also of note is a an Aesthetic Movement library table of figured maple (est

$25/35,000). Made by Herter Brothers of New York City around 1875, the

rectangular piece reflects Japanese influence on American taste of the period.

On the same day, furniture and decorative arts from the Thomas Mellon Evans

collection will be offered in a single-owner session. A Wall Street legend,

Evans was known for his mastery of corporate mergers and acquisitions in the

1950s and 1960s.

Marked by a respect for quality, the Evans collection features a Chippendale

carved walnut high chest of drawers made in Philadelphia between 1740-50 (est

$120/180,000). One of the earliest Rococo high chests to survive from this

Colonial port city, it testifies to the contributions of highly skilled

immigrant craftsmen in Philadelphia in the mid-Eighteenth Century.

Among other outstanding examples are a Queen Anne maple and birch tea table,

New England, circa 1740-1760 (est $12/18,000); a Queen Anne walnut desk on

frame, Philadelphia, 1740-1760 (est $15/25,000); and a Chippendale mahogany

tilt-top tea table, Philadelphia, 1760-1780 (est $20/40,000).

The Evans collection features Chinese Export paintings. "A View of the Hongs

at Canton," mid-Nineteenth Century, is expected to bring $12/18,000.

Pre-sale exhibitions of Important American Furniture, Silver, Folk Art and

Decorative Arts and American Furniture and Decorative Arts from the Thomas

Mellon Evans collection will begin at Christie's New York on Friday, June 12,

and continue to Thursday, June 17.