High chest of drawers

Creator:: Casey, Samuel, 1723-1773
Townsend, John, 1732-1809, and Goddard, John, 1723-1785 (school of), active late 1730s-late 1770s
Published/Created:: Newport, Newport county, Rhode Island, United States
ca. 1750–1760
Physical Description:: 85 x 39 1/2 x 21 3/4 in.
Materials:: Mahogany; brass
Notes:: Sack catalogue description: Chippendale mahogany bonnet-top highboy with open claw feet, shell-carved center apron, paneled scrollboard and rear dustboard; in superb state of preservation with beautiful golden brown patina, original brasses and finial, made by one of the Townsend-Goddard master craftsmen. The prize of Newport is, of course, the open talon carved claw-and-ball foot, a mark of distinction in a few examples attributed to the Goddard School; this device found in some of the dressing tables, tea tables and card tables of Newport is often combined with cabriole pad foot rear legs. This highboy and accompanying pocketbook were purchased from descendants of Christopher Lawton (1728–1752) of South Kingston, Rhode Island, who married Elizabeth Tripp in 1751; Elizabeth Tripp married (for the second time) William Browning of South Kingston, Rhode Island, in 1755. The initials on the purse clasp are "WB" for William Browning. Accompanying the highboy is a flamestitch pocketbook with engraved silver clasps marked "SC" for Samuel Casey of South Kingston, Rhode Island; this is the only known marked American pocketbook of the eighteenth century. Rarely does a representative piece have an accompanying document which not only is unique in itself but in conjunction with its parent adds that extra touch of history, date and oral confirmation.
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Bibliography: Book: American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Highland House Publishers, 1957–1990), vol. 3, pp. 588–589, pl. 1352; vol. 6, p. 8, pl. P3048.
Variant Titles:: Chippendale mahogany bonnet-top highboy and pocketbook
Topics:: Decoration and ornament -- Chippendale style
Furniture -- United States
Period/Style:: Chippendale
Culture:: American
Accession Number:: 3048
Genre:: high chests of drawers (AAT)
highboys (AAT)
pocketbooks (AAT)
Format:: Image
Physical Object
Content Type:: Furnishings & Decorative Arts
Prints & Photographs
Rights:: The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement
Access Restrictions:: Public
Source Title:: Israel Sack, Inc., Archive
Source Created:: New York, New York, United States
1957–1990
Source Note:: Sack, January 1970; Sack, 1979
This information is taken from the Israel Sack Furniture Archive and may not reflect current scholarship.
Folder:: Folder 10978 nc cab2dr1 tif_complete
Yale Collection:: Yale University Art Gallery
Digital Collection:: Israel Sack Furniture Archive
oid pointer:: 10994179
OID:: 12029755
PID:: digcoll:1024473