Photo: Courtesy Sotheby's, New York
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Slant-front desk |
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Object numberRIF507 |
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MakerMaker, possibly by John Townsend, American, 1732/331809Maker, possibly by Jonathan Townsend, 17451772 |
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Dimensions42 × 43 3/4 × 23 in. (106.68 × 111.13 × 58.42 cm) |
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Date176595 |
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Current locationUnknown |
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GeographyMade in Newport, Rhode Island(view a map of Rhode Island) |
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MediumMahogany (primary); mahogany (linings of interior drawers); chestnut (board below interior drawers back boards, backing for drawer dividers, drawer supports, bottom board, blocks on feet); yellow poplar (exterior drawer linings |
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MarksNone |
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Inscriptions"1" though "6," in graphite, on exterior back of valance drawers from left to right; "B II," "VB II," "VB W," and VB W," possibly in graphite, on exterior backs of exterior drawers, from top to bottom; "3," in graphite, on underside of proper left interior drawer; other drawers with numbers, "1," "2," "4," "5," and "6," in graphite that may not be original; "A," through "C," in graphite on interior bottoms of prospect drawers from top to bottom; "T * P[backwards]," incised, on underside of top exterior drawer; interlocking arcs, in chalk, on underside of third exterior drawer; double "O," in chalk, on vertical brace at interior back of case; "X," in chalk, on exterior back of middle back board; "GINSBURG & LEVY, Inc., / ANTIIQUE [torn] / 815 MADISON AVE [torn] / NEW YORK," printed in blue ink, on paper label glued to interior proper left side of tope exterior drawer |
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ProvenanceGinsburg and Levy, Inc., New York. Bernard and S. Dean Levy, Inc., New York, before 1984. A du Pont collection; consigned to Sotheby's, New York, January 2021, 2017, lot 4230 |
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Associated namesGinsburg and Levy, Inc.Bernard and S. Dean Levy, Inc. Sotheby's |
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BibliographyMichael Moses, Master Craftsmen of Newport: The Townsends and Goddards (Tenafly, N.J.: MMI Americana Press, 1984), 42, fig. 1.27.Sotheby's, New York, Important Americana Including Property from the Collection of Joan Oestreich Kend, sale cat. (January 2021, 2017), lot 4230, ill. |