Figured Mahogany Bow-Front Chest attributed to the shop of Robert Walker, signed in script "Boston October the 18th 1805", likely referring to a free person of color by that name working for or in Robert Walker's shop, highly figured veneers, finely constructed with white pine secondary, tall French feet with mahogany blocking, 38-1/2 x 43 x 22-3/4 in.. Condition: excellent condition overall, brasses replaced, very minor veneer checking and one very small patch, minor warping to top, slight sun fading, one bottom board replaced, scattered minor replacements to blocking. Notes: The distinctive skirt design and foot construction of this chest correspond to a small group of important case furniture attributed to Robert Walker or Watts & Walker, working in Charleston in the 1790s and early 1800s. (See Bivins and Rauschenberg, [The Furniture of Charleston, 1680-1820], Vol. 2, fig, p. 583 through 595). As Robert Walker took over the shop in 1803, this piece post dates his partnership with Watts. The inscription with the name "Boston" likely refers to a free person of color working in the cabinet trade in Charleston. Charleston has a long history of enslaved and free persons of color working as carpenters and related fields bearing the name "Boston". The Craftsman index at MESDA lists five enslaved carpenters bearing that name with dates ranging from 1747 to 1817. Perhaps the origin of this name resides with cabinet maker Charles Warham, working in Charleston. Warham was a London-born cabinet maker who moved from Boston, Massachusetts, to Charleston, circa 1734. In that year Warham, who is identified as a joiner, sold an African boy named Boston to Solomon Legare, the Charleston goldsmith. Boston next appears as a gift from Timothy Breed and his wife Sarah, to their daughter Sarah in 1753. Sarah married Thomas Mills, Charleston cabinet maker in 1766. In the 1790 census, the name Boston again appears, where he is listed as a free person of color. As the signature appears in a well-concealed place (the top must be removed in order to see it), it likely does not refer to the town of Boston. Cabinet wares intended for shipment were sometimes inscribed with their destinations, but were done so conspicuously. Whether the inscription is in the hand of Boston himself or perhaps in the hand of the cabinet maker he was working for is not clear. While the details of the signature and inscription remain unknown, this chest may well be the first Charleston form signed and attributable to the hands of a cabinet maker of African descent working in that city. It is a remarkable rarity and survives in very fine condition.. Provenance: David Beckford Antiques, Charleston, South Carolina

excellent condition overall, brasses replaced, very minor veneer checking and one very small patch, minor warping to top, slight sun fading, one bottom board replaced, scattered minor replacements to blocking