Side chairs, pair

Creator:: Phyfe, Duncan, 1768-1854 (attributed)
Published/Created:: New York, New York state, United States
ca. 1810–1820
Physical Description:: Height: 32 1/4 in.
Materials:: mahogany
Notes:: Sack catalogue description: Pair of Classical mahogany harp-back side chairs, the harp motif is a rare and brilliant variation from the more typical lyre splat, crotch veneered crest panels; hairy paw feet, choice bronze patina. Attributed to Duncan Phyfe; ex-collection the late Mitchel Taradash. The integration of the asymmetrical harp into the design is a tour de force that could be attempted only by a master such as Duncan Phyfe; the crotch veneered crest panels and hairy paw feet relate to chairs of Phyfe's handiwork. We know of two other pairs of this form: one pair is illustrated in the Girl Scout Loan Exhibition catalogue, pl. 797, and a second pair is in the Winterthur Museum, illustrated in Montgomery, American Furniture, pl. 74.
Related objects: Book: Charles F. Montgomery, American Furniture: The Federal Period in the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum (New York: Viking Press, 1966), pl. 74. Exhibition catalogue: Loan Exhibition of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Furniture and Glass, at the American Art Galleries (New York: Girl Scouts, Inc., 1929), no. 797.
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Bibliography: Book: American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Highland House Publishers, 1957–1990), vol. 4, p. 1104, pl. P3968. Book: Alice Winchester, Living With Antiques (New York: Robert McBride and Company, 1948), p. 90. Journal/Periodical: The Magazine Antiques (January 1953): p. 44.
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YUAG catalogue note: The related pair of harp-back side chairs in the collection of the Winterthur Museum, Delaware, are objects 1957.0717.001–1957.0717.002.
Variant Titles:: Pair of Classical mahogany harp-back side chairs
Topics:: Decoration and ornament -- Neoclassical style
Furniture -- United States
Period/Style:: Federal
Neoclassical
Culture:: American
Accession Number:: 3968
Genre:: side chairs (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, June 1974
This information is taken from the Israel Sack Furniture Archive and may not reflect current scholarship.
Folder:: Folder 10319 cab2dr2 tiff_complete
Yale Collection:: Yale University Art Gallery
Digital Collection:: Israel Sack Furniture Archive
oid pointer:: 10969621
OID:: 11872150
PID:: digcoll:847302