This is a commanding Boston/Salem secretary, c.1790. It relates closely to one belonging to the Dartmouth Historical Society illustrated in Boston Furniture of the 18th Century, University Press of New England, cat.no.132. While the Dartmouth example has a bombé shaped chest of drawers–as opposed to an oxbow one–they are remarkably similar. They both are relatively short and have similar shaped open pitched pediments. Both have mirrored doors that are enclosed in a scalloped framework. Further, the claw and ball feet appear identical and probably from the same shop.
A related Boston Oxbow is illustrated in Zimmerman, Philip D. “Oxbow furniture: Identifying the Form’s Date Range”. Antiques & Fine Art, August 2011, fig.2.
The interior has a prospect door that is mirrored and framed in a scalloped frame as are the two doors above.
The brasses on the front are original; the side handles were added. We have had the antique glass mirrors resilvered. We added mahogany panels to the back of the mirror frames to provide a more finished look when the doors are opened, in lieu of a paper backing.
This is a high style Chippendale secretary, the form of which is always on exhibit in museums that showcase Colonial furniture i.e. the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, etc. All have minor issues, as does our example cited above.
This was a must-have secretary, as they rarely come around. When this became available, we moved on it. They show the full development of these great secretaries crafted in Boston and Salem.
Height: 87 in. Width: 43 in. Depth: 23 in.
Revised Sat, Aug 23, 2024