Chest of Drawers, Essex County, Massachusetts,
dated 1678.

This is the earliest known dated American chest of drawers. It was a marriage chest for John and Margaret Staniford, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, who married in 1678. Their initials, JSM, are carved into the central panel of the fourth drawer. Five tiers of drawers is a rare arrangement, as is the alternation of tripartite and bipartite drawers. It is decorated by carving, applied split balusters, and polychrome paint, some of which is probably of a later date. There is strong circumstantial evidence that it was made by Thomas who emigrated from England in about 1663. He was the only joiner known to be working in Ipswich at the time; Margaret StanifordÕs family lived next door to him, and John and Margaret witnessed his will in 1706. The provenance is impeccable: the chest remained in the Staniford family until 1930, when du Pont bought it from one of the descendents.

Valuables Cabinet, Salem, Massachusetts.

The valuables cabinet (or Òcase of drawersÓ or Òchest of boxesÓ as it was variously called in the period) is one of the rarest of seventeenth-century forms. Four such cabinets are currently known, and all are attributed to the Symonds shop in Salem, Massachusetts. Each is dated and inscribed with the ownerÕs initials, which suggests that they were specially commissioned. This one has ten interior drawers, is dated 1679, and bears the initials of Thomas Hart. Like the others, it is decorated with the geometric ornamentation derived from Palladian architecture that was currently fashionable in England and Europe.

Armchair, Essex County, Massachusetts, 1640-1685.

This is one of six known, closely related examples, all made in the same shop and all now owned by major institutions. The carving on them is by more than one hand, but the motifs of arched lunettes, elaborated S-scrolls and stylized foliage are typical of furniture and boxes made in Essex County.
This joint stool, featured in our January issue, is a member of the same group.

Dressing table, walnut, the top with slate set in a marquetry-decorated surround. Boston, 1700-1720.

Du Pont longed to acquire a William and Mary slate-top dressing table, Òone of the most refined and probably finest of this type of New England table,Ó as he put it. He never found one, but after his death, Winterthur fulfilled his dream by acquiring this table in 1998. The intricacy of the marquetry, the richness of the veneer on the drawers, and the dramatic contrast between thick and thin in the turned legs are typical of the baroque style.

High Chest, 1740-1750, black walnut, soft maple, white pine, japanned decoration, brass.
Gift of Henry Francis du Pont.

Lacquered, or “japanned” furniture was among the costliest and most spectacular imports from the East. The taste for it reached America via England and Holland, and Boston became the American center of japanning. In 1730, there were three specialist japanners working in Boston; by 1750 there were 10. There is some Boston japanned work in the William and Mary style, but most is Queen Anne, like this high chest. The japanning is typical of Boston: the background is vermillion with a black overpaint to simulate tortoiseshell. The oriental motifs are gilded, and some are raised with gesso to enhance the splendor. The gilded shells are often found on non-japanned furniture, but the floral garlands beneath them are rare. The japanner is unknown, but the case was made by John Pimm (died 1773) who chalked his name on the back of almost every drawer, presumably for the japanner to keep track of whose they were.

Palampore, painted cotton, India,
1690-1720.

Textiles imported from the East, like this bed covering, had enormous influence on fashionable designs in Europe, England and America. The tree of life seen here remained popular throughout the eighteenth century. London export records for 1700 include the shipment of 100 palampores to Virginia.

Silk needlework picture (detail), Mary King, Philadelphia, 1754. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont.

In this confident needlework, the tree of life is inspired by an Indian palampore, but the foreground, with its lion and leopard, and its strawberries and rabbits, traces back to the English tradition.

Pagoda, hard paste porcelain, China 1785 Ð 1830 (one of a pair).

Pagodas embodied the essence of the Orient, and a limited number were brought to America, the first in 1793. Wealthy Americans began creating fanciful and luxuriant gardens in the early nineteenth century for which they imported oriental plants and built pagoda-like pavilions, and even, in one instance, a pagoda poultry house! This pair of pagodas is decorated with gilt spheres and bells, and, at five feet tall is the largest of the imports.

Side chair, mahogany, attributed to Thomas Affleck,
Philadelphia, 1770, one of seven surviving from a
larger set made for John Cadwalader.

John Cadwalader commissioned the most elaborate rococo furniture made in America. He and his wife, Elizabeth, completely refurbished their house on Second Street, Philadelphia, fitting it with elaborate architectural carving, stucco and plasterwork ceilings, gilt papier-mache borders, and costly hangings and upholstery. It was “an extraordinary array of taste and wealth” but the star of the show was the rococo furniture, much of it by Thomas Affleck.
Affleck was a Scottish-born Quaker who emigrated to Philadelphia in 1763 and quickly established himself as a master cabinetmaker. The carvers he employed – Reynolds, Bernard and Jugiez – probably worked on the architectural features of the house, thus producing a remarkable unity between the furniture and its setting. This chair is directly inspired by designs in Chippendale's Director: the intricately detailed rococo carving is unified with the form in an exemplary manner. The hairy paw feet of the Cadwalader-Affleck furniture set it apart from the ball and claw feet found on most furniture of this period. Wendy Cooper comments, “No doubt the Cadwaladers wanted more elegant furnishings that would be distinguished from others in the city, and they succeeded.”

Salver, sterling silver,
by Thomas Edwards, Boston, c. 1750.

This salver, with its cast rococo border of C- and S-scrolls is rare in being American. Most salvers were imported from London. The design was brought to England by Huguenot silversmiths in the 1740s, so Edwards was quick to challenge the imports.

“The Four Continents,” Derby, England, 1760-1770.

In this period global trade was flourishing across all four continents, and luxury items such as these figures were made to celebrate the bounty of the wide and wonderful world. With their curvy scroll-like forms these figures are the epitome of rococo. Standing on rock-like mounds, each figure is surrounded with the symbols of its continent. Europe has an orb and crown, and war trophies; fruit and flowers lie at her feet. Asia holds a flaming urn and flowers while a camel lies at her feet. Africa has an elephant headdress and straddles a lion, while America, garbed in native dress, stands with one foot on a crocodile. These figures, slightly over a foot high, would have garnished a mantelpiece, and were often moved to the dining table to form a centerpiece when the dessert was being served.

Slab-top side table, mahogany with yellow pine, probably South Carolina or Philadelphia, 1760-1780.

Charlestonians imported much of their furniture from England, but local cabinetmakers took up the challenge of competing with their London counterparts. This slab top table is a rare example of what may have been a relatively popular local form. It was a forerunner of the sideboard, and would have been used for serving in the dining room, where its marble top could withstand hot or wet dishes. The subtle shaping across the front of the skirt and the bold rococo carving on the legs make this one of the most refined examples to survive. Its provenance goes back to about 1900 when it was found in lower South Carolina. A southern origin is highly probable but not certain.

Tall Clock, John Paul Jr., Elizabethville, Dauphin County, 1815.

Everything about this clock case suggests that the maker considered it his masterwork. John PaulÕs creativity and passion for detail are seen in every aspect. The carved and inlaid ornaments evoke patriotic American as well as traditional German symbolism. The seal of the state of Pennsylvania is inlaid on the door, and there are no fewer than nine eagles appearing from the top of the pediment to the center of the base. Unquestionably a masterwork of backcountry artisanry, it was made when John Paul was only 26 years old.

Fraktur, Jacob Strickler, Page County, Virginia, 1794.

Dramatically different from Pennsylvania fraktur, though clearly within the same tradition, this wildly floral Zierschrift (decorative writing) is asymmetrical and so contrasts with the symmetrical composition of most other fraktur. It translates in part as “The paper is my field and the pen is my plow, that is why I am so clever. The ink is my seed with which I write my name.”

Jacquard Coverlet (corner detail), Isaac Brubaker, New Holland, Lancaster County, 1834;
Quilt (center detail), probably Bucks County, 1830.

Jacquard coverlets were professionally woven on looms that used punched cards to produce repetitive patterns. The wool was often supplied by the customer. They typically included a corner block giving the makers’ and owners’ names and the date. Pennsylvania Germans slept under a featherbed and a coverlet instead of the blanket and quilt favored by the English. This coverlet contains much of the vocabulary of German ornament – stars, tulips, roses, birds, trees, and branches of foliage.
The quilt is an early Anglo-German bedcovering. The embroidered squares are wool crewelwork and are typically German in their paired birds and tulips rising from a pot. The unknown maker, “ES,” used expensive silk thread for her initials and the flowers in the central square, and for the delicate legs of the birds in the other squares.

Two figures of birds and a bird tree attributed to “Schtocknitzler” (cane carver) Simmons, Bucks County, 1885-1910; figure of a rooster, attributed to John Reber, Lehigh County, about 1880-1938.

Most Pennsylvania German decoration is found on utilitarian objects, but there were a few whimsies, such as these birds, that were made purely for pleasure. Du Pont was captivated by the light-hearted beauty of whimsies such as these.

An outstanding New York sideboard, patterned with exceptional veneers and inlays.

On it are six tankards by Paul Revere of Boston, a selection of Chinese porcelain made for the American market, and two knife boxes shaped as classical urns that were made for Elias Derby of Salem, Massachusetts, who was America's first millionaire (NE Antiques Journal, October, 2007, featured the Elias Derby chest-on-chest carved by Samuel McIntire). Above it hangs Benjamin West's historic American Commissioners. The painting is unfinished, because Richard Oswald, the British representation at the peace negotiations, refused to sit for his portrait. As John Quincey Adams, (seated left) wrote in his diary, “Mr. OswaldÉwas an ugly looking man, blind of one eye, and he died without leaving any portrait of him extant.” Also portrayed are Benjamin Franklin (seated middle), his grandson, William Temple Franklin (seated right), John Jay (standing left) and Henry Laurens (standing right).

Card Table, Baltimore, 1800-1810.

The brilliant red paint with delicate gold decoration is enhanced with ovals painted with classical ruins in romantic landscapes. These miniature landscapes are found on other Baltimore pier and card tables. The leaf and berry decoration on the legs is also, although rarely, seen on Philadelphia furniture. The interior is also bright red with delicate gold decoration (see inset).

Klismos side chair (one of a pair), Baltimore, 1815-1825.

Baltimore produced sophisticated chairs that closely followed the form of the Greek originals, known as klismos. The painting of the griffins and foliate scrolls on the tablet are of the quality produced by the shop of Hugh and John Finlay, and may well have been painted by them.

Collector’s Cabinet, Philadelphia, 1810-1820.

This unusual and magnificent piece resembles a pier table until the top is lifted to reveal intricately divided compartments for variously sized specimens such as shells or minerals. The underside of the top is mirrored to reveal the collection as soon as it is opened. Du Pont was particularly moved by symbols of patriotism, such as these masterful eagles.

Vase, Josiah Wedgwood's Factory, Staffordshire,
England, 1790-1800.

This jasperware vase has applied relief decoration depicting Apollo and the muses, with serpents twined around the handles. It epitomizes the classical taste; the form and every decorative motif on it are drawn directly from classical Geek originals.