The Magazine Antiques

This marvelous, country windsor settee was recently found in the basement of the public library in Dover, New Hampshire. There it had quite evidently been since the building was built, around the year 1800. The crest rail has a bold step-down profile, accentuated by the high-curving, angel-wing returns at either end. The form is further enhanced by the somewhat exaggerated overhang of the wide, shaped seat, which is perched on turned, bamboo legs and stretchers. But perhaps the best feature is carved shield in the center spindle, placed just below the midpoint. The combination of these elements take what might otherwise be another common interpretation of a formal, urban bench, and elevate it to the stature of high country folk art. All of this could be forgotten, however, if the settee were refinished. But it was not. The thin layer of early, Spanish brown paint, dating to the first quarter of the 19th century, is extra dry, with excellent craquelure, and is practically as exceptional as the form it compliments.

Condition: Iron "L" brackets had been added to the underside of the seat at some point in its past. These were removed and the joints were re-glued. There is a very early pieced replacement on the left side of the crest, along the top edge, about 12" in length by a fraction of an inch tall. Practically invisible, it must have been done in the early part of the 19th century, possibly by the original maker, old enough that it retains the same great surface. There are structural cracks in the crest rail on either side of the center. These are neither offensive nor unsound. The bench is sittable and sturdy.

Measurements: 82.5" x 37" x 20.5"

Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques

York County, Pennsylvania

T: (717) 676-0545, F: (717) 502-1281

www.jeffbridgman.com

With primitive chevron motif radiating from diamond center.
Sight 5 7/8 x 3 7/8 inches; width 4 inches
L3427

Julius Lowy Frame and Restoring Company
223 East 80th Street
New York, NY 10075
212.861.8585
www.lowyonline.com

Signed by the artist.
69 1/2 x 54 1/2" (canvas); 85 3/8" x 70 3/8" (frame).
Framed

Arader Galleries
www.aradergalleries.com
1016 Madison Avenue, NY, NY 10075
(212) 628-7625
1308 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 735-8811
435 Jackson Steet, San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 788-5115

The Bases Danish. The Tops Italian. Both Last Quarter Of The Eighteenth Century.

Of giltwood. Each with a rectangular marble top inlaid with a pattern of interlocking circles filled with specimen marbles within a Siena border, the top above a plain frieze edged above with a rope twist molding and below with a lotus molding and mounted with flowerheads, the whole raised on four tapering legs, each headed by a square block decorated to the outer faces by a half-flowerhead motif above a shaped stiff leaf collar, the lower spiral fluted section above a shaped foot.

Marks:
Each table bears label
B.B. København

Measurements:
 
Height: 35 3/4" (91 cm); Width: 45 1/2" (115.5 cm); Depth: 25" (64 cm).

Seth Shapiro
Carlton Hobbs LLC
60 East 93rd Street
New York, N.Y. 10128
T: +1 212 423 9000
F: +1 212 876 0167
seth@carltonhobbs.com

www.carltonhobbs.com