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Gilt-Stenciled Carved Mahogany Armoire

Offered by: Carswell Rush Berlin Antiques

Description
In the Manner of Holmes & Haines (1825-1830).

The projecting cornice above an arched entablature with Ionic column capitals and stenciled bordering, centering a gilt-stenciled spray of fruit and leaves, above a pair of paneled cabinet doors with stenciled bordering, opening to a vertically divided interior split 66/33%, with two stacked drawers with original brass pulls and three removable shelves in the left compartment and two hanging bars in the right compartment. The case flanked by stencil-decorated columns, is raised on massive carved animal paw feet with eagle brackets. (cornice: 65½" x 31¾")

The Armoire form is French and does not appear in English design directories of the period. This, however, could never be mistaken for a French armoire; it is purely American. Gilt-stenciling may have begun in the Jefferson years when the embargo made English and French bronze furniture appliqués difficult to acquire in America, but American cabinetmakers made an art form of gilt-stenciling where it was particularly popular in New York and Philadelphia.

Related to a Joseph Meeks and Sons attributed pier table and secretary bookcase at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, there were a half dozen or more firms in New York whose known work relates to this armoire and who might have made it, including Deming & Bulkley (working 1820-1850), Holmes and Haines (working 1825-1830), Meeks & Sons (working 1798-1867), Kinnan & Mead (working 1823-1830), and Williams and Dawson (working 1824-1832).

This is an exceptional example of this uniquely American expression, boasting classical stenciling and gilt decoration at its most exuberant

More Information

Origin:	United States, New York
Period:	19th Century
Materials:	Carved Mahogany.
Condition:	Excellent. Minor imperfections to veneer throughout, respairs to doors where hinges have broken out and to style of left door. Minor loses to carving around the feet and toes.
Creation Date:	New York, c. 1825-30.
Styles / Movements:	Classical, Empire, Neoclassical
Incollect Reference #:	109384