Queen Anne Carved and Figured Mahogany Bonnet-Top High Chest of Drawers, Carving possibly by Nicholas Bernard (w.1762-1783), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1750

Appears to retain its original hardware. Central portion of skirt lacking and scroll board patched at location of central finial.

Lacking finials. Proper right side cornice detatched. Retains its original brasses. At some point, probably due to damage, the middle section of the apron and scroll board. was removed. Added pulls to lower carved drawer. Overall piece is loose and needs to be reglued.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This impressive high chest is characteristic of the best Philadelphia craftsmanship in the late baroque style.  With its tall upper case and elongated bonnet, it has very bold proportions.  Its two carved drawers are highly ornate and beautifully carved.  These drawers are carved from the solid rather than having the foliage applied, requiring a very thick piece of walnut and expert sculpting.   Its complex drawer arrangement, especially in the upper section, is indicative of its high quality.  Very few cabinetmakers would have gone to the trouble of adding such a deep drawer to the typanum.  This treatment required the bonnet to be extra high and as a result required a more complex cornice molding.  The second tier of three drawers, followed by two, and finally sustained by long drawers, combined with the dramatic graduation of these drawers, visually draws the eye upward to the increasing complexity and decoration.  This basic organization became very popular on high style, highly decorated rococo high chests, such as the Joseph Deleveau high chest illustrated in Horner’s Blue Book.  (William MacPherson Horner, Blue Book Philadelphia Furniture, Washington, D.C., Highland House Publishers, 1935 and 1977, pl. 141).

The wavy shell carving on the central drawers is very unusual.  This treatment, along with similarly fluted chamfered corners, and nearly identical legs, are found on a dressing table formerly in the collection of Bernard and S. Dean Levy and illustrated in Vanity and Elegance:  The Dressing Table and Tall Chest in America 1685-1785, (New York, Bernard and S. Dean Levy Inc, 1992, p.32, no. 27).  The Levy dressing table provides a prototype for the skirt design that probably originally decorated this high chest. 

A fishtail pendant much like the one on the Levy dressing table, and presumably this high chest, adorns a comparatively simpler high chest once advertised by H.L. Chalfant Antiques, (The Magazine Antiques, September 1997), indicating that this may have been a somewhat popular motif.

A similarly carved wavy shell appears on the central drawer of another dressing table advertised by Joe Kindig, Jr. (The Magazine Antiques, May 1942).  In addition, a side chair in the Winterthur collection exhibits a wavy shell centered on its crestrail, (see Joseph Downs, American Furniture:  Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods, New York, Macmillian, 1952, no.122).  This walnut Philadelphia side chair, also shares protruding scrolls on the inside of the knees, shell and bellflower carved knees, and stockinged trifid feet.  Interestingly, the Winterthur side chair is attributed to cabinetmaker John Elliott, to whom the Levy dressing table is also possibly attributed.  The relation of the Levy dressing table to John Elliott is drawn from an Elliott dressing table which is illustrated in Horner’s Blue Book which has a wavy shell pendant on the skirt (John MacPherson Horner, p. 62,  pl.  66).  These examples indicate that though this wavy-type shell is unusual but not unique: it appears on a variety of Philadelphia furniture from the mid-eighteenth century.