1740-1750, Christopher Townsend (1701-1787) or possibly Job Townsend Sr. (1699-1765), original brasses, highly figured top with notched corners and good overhang, poplar and white pine secondaries, 34-1/2 x 33-1/2 x 23-1/4 in.

Provenance: Liverant & Sons, Colchester, Connecticut, 1996; Christie's, New York, NY, "Property from the Collection of George and Lesley Schoedinger" January 18, 2008, lot 513 (accompanied by copy of invoice); Levison & Cullen Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, January 2008 (accompanied by copy of receipt for $91,000); Estate of Richard and Shirley Roberts, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Note: This rare dressing table exemplifies high-style Newport craftsmanship of the 1740s through its dovetailed case, glue-block leg joinery, and distinctively tall, slender cabriole legs with slipper feet. The skirt profile, featuring notched ogee shaping and a central raised double arch, directly relates to a signed 1748 Christopher Townsend high chest and two associated pre-1750 workshop examples. While nearly identical in form, proportions, and hardware to a prominent dressing table in a private collection, a critical construction detail strongly isolates the hand of Christopher Townsend over his brother Job, Sr. The rear legs of this table are glued into shallow rabbets cut into the backboard to increase surface area. This highly specific structural trait is a documented hallmark of Christopher's workshop, found on his signed high chest at the Chipstone Foundation and a closely related dressing table in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A high chest attributed to Christopher Townsend that features a similar apron is illustrated in Luke Beckerdite, "The Early Furniture of Christopher and Job Townsend", American Furniture (2000) p. 11, fig. 20. Other related examples and information are in the same article, pp. 12-17.