Very Fine and Rare Set of Four Chippendale Carved Mahogany Side Chairs, Attributed to James Gillingham (1736-1781), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Circa 1770

Joseph K. Kindig, III, The Philadelphia Chair, 1685-1785, (York, PA: Historical Society of York County, 1978), no. 58.

Featuring a carved crest rail, trefoil-pierced splat pattern taken from Chippendale’s Director¹, stiles with lozenge carving, and cabriole legs with acanthus carved knees and claw feet, these side chairs represents a richly embellished version of an extremely popular chair design in Colonial Philadelphia undoubtedly made by multiple cabinet shops. A side chair appearing to stem from the same set is illustrated in William Hornor, Blue Book Philadelphia Furniture (Alexandria, VA: Highland House Publishers, 1988):  pl. 349. The overall lines and broad proportions of these chairs along with the three dimensional quality of the carving indicates they were made just before the Revolution. Collectively, they represent the richest level of artistic embellishment and design found in Philadelphia Rococo seating furniture.

 

Three similar chairs lacking the carving found on the present chairs bear the label of James Gillingham (1736-1781), a cabinetmaker working on Second Street in Philadelphia from 1768 to 1773.²  Two chairs from a related set of chairs attributed to Thomas Tufft (died 1788) were sold at Replica Shoes ’s, Property from a Private Collection, January 18, 2003, sale 7866, lot 909. Three other chairs with the same splat design but with variations to the shape of the skirt and carved knees are illustrated in Joe Kindig, The Philadelphia Chair, 1685-1785 (York: The Historical Society of York County, 1978): nos. 55, 56, and 57.

 

¹ Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman & Cabinet-Maker’s Director, London, 1754, pls. XIII, XIIII and XXIV.

² Luke Vincent Lockwood, Colonial Furniture in America, 1926, Volume II, p. 94.