1755-1760, a robustly designed chair with boldly scrolled crest rail with rope and tassel carving, centering a carved cabochon, carved, incised, and stippled pierced splat flanked by fluted stiles, seat frame with boldly formed central shell, carved and stippled cabriole legs with ball and claw feet, green wool damask upholstery, 40-1/2 x 21-1/2 x 22-1/2 in.
Provenance: Sotheby's, New York, October 24th, 1986, lot 187B; Property from the Collection of Dudley and Constance Godfrey
Note: This chair is one of six examples reputed to have been used in the President's house in Philadelphia (Stephen Decatur, "George Washington and His Presidential Furniture." American Collector, February 1941, pp. 8-11). Others are in the Winterthur Museum (Charles Hummel, A Winterthur Guide to American Chippendale Furniture [New York]) and Kaufman Collection (J. Michael Flannigan, American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection [Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1986], pp. 26-7).
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Sotheby's, New York, October 24th, 1986, lot 187B; Property from the Collection of Dudley and Constance Godfrey
carved elements on the front leg stiles and one knee block are replaced, typical minor breaks and repairs at joints of crest to rear stiles, possible repinning at rear seat rail joints, period yellow pine slip seat, modern green wool upholstery in good condition