highly figured mahogany throughout, molded top, poplar, white cedar and yellow pine secondary, finely carved with punch work ground, the central shell drawer with leaf and C-scroll appliques, scalloped skirt with central shell applique, finely carved legs and feet, 30-1/2 x 36 x 21-1/2 in.
Provenance: John C. Toland, by 1937; Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; sold Sotheby's, New York, October 26th, 1991; collection of Edward Lacy; Property from the Collection of Dudley and Constance Godfrey
Note: This dressing table was formerly owned by legendary collector John C. Toland. The highly figured mahogany creates a vibrant backdrop for the relieved and applied carving, all of which was furnished by Martin Jugiez. Trained in Paris as a sculptor, Jugiez and his partner Nicholas Bernard first advertised in Philadelphia in 1762. Their firm received the highest level of patronage, furnishing architectural carving for several important houses and public buildings and furniture ornaments for the city's leading cabinetmakers, including Thomas Affleck and Benjamin Rudolph (Luke Beckerdite, "Philadelphia Carving Shops, Part II: Bernard and Jugiez." Antiques 128, no. 3 [September 1985]: 498-513; Beckerdite and Alan Miller, "A Table's Tale: Craft, Art, and Opportunity in Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia." American Furniture, edited by Luke Beckerdite [Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England for the Chipstone Foundation, 2004]. pp. 2-45; and Beckerdite and Alan Miller, "A Philadelphia Carved Bust of Benjamin Franklin," in American Furniture, edited by Luke Beckerdite [Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England for the Chipstone Foundation, 2016, pp. 2-22]).
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John C. Toland, by 1937; Colonial Williamsburg Foundation; sold Sotheby's, New York, October 26th, 1991; collection of Edward Lacy; Property from the Collection of Dudley and Constance Godfrey
excellent condition, the brasses are replaced based on impressions left by the originals, applied carving appears largely intact, no leg or foot repairs found