Attributed to Benjamin Frothingham, Charlestown, Massachusetts, circa 1770; richly figured dense mahogany with fine mellow surface, bold original brasses, 89-1/2 x 42-1/2 x 24-1/2 in.
Provenance: Descended in the family of Benjamin Hall, who married Hepsibah Jones in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1752; Israel Sack Inc., New York, NY; the collection of Rear Admiral Edward P. Moor and Barbara Bingham Moore; sold Sotheby's, New York, NY, "Property of Rear Admiral Edward P. Moore and Barbara Bingham Moore," September 26, 2008, lot 40, for $230,500; Private Connecticut Collection
Literature: Published as a "masterpiece" example in Albert Sack, The New Fine Points of Furniture (1993), p. 117 and as a "Massachusetts Masterpiece attributed to Benjamin Frothingham" in Israel Sack, American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, vol. VIII, P.5661, pp. 2178-79.
Israel Sack notes the attribution to Frothingham is based on the similarities between this chest on chest and a labeled chest on chest published on the frontispiece of The Magazine Antiques (February 1952), as well as on a labeled chest of drawers on page 395 of the same issue.
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Descended in the family of Benjamin Hall, who married Hepsibah Jones in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1752; Israel Sack Inc., New York, NY; the collection of Rear Admiral Edward P. Moor and Barbara Bingham Moore; sold Sotheby's, New York, NY, "Property of Rear Admiral Edward P. Moore and Barbara Bingham Moore," September 26, 2008, lot 40, for $230,500; Private Connecticut Collection
when this sold at Sotheby's in 2008, it was noted as "appearing to retain its original hardware and central carved and pierced urn-and-flame finial. Retails a dark rich historic surface". In addition, we observed the feet and most blocking with typical edge wear and one small chip, drawer interiors with remnants of early paper linings; a September 2025 conservation report from Walton Antiques notes overall cosmetic finish detail and finish consolidation (see attached).
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