AFA Autumn 2018

Antiques & Fine Art 103 2018 Fully one-third of surviving Lumbard pieces are chests of drawers, ranging from ornately inlaid serpentine forms to more modest bowfronts. This serpentine chest features cherry veneered drawers with the grain running vertically, as well as light- and dark-chevron stringing and mahogany feather banding (cross-banding set on an angle). The discovery of this example in 1987 began to unravel the mystery of the previously anonymous maker of a group of exquisite inlaid furniture. The chest’s foot and molding profiles, veneer work, light- and dark-wood inlay, and construction details have helped identify other examples by Lumbard. Enoch Pond, noted in the inscription, first apprenticed with the Clark family of cabinetmakers and spent a brief stint in Georgia before returning to New England and taking over the Connecticut workshop of David Clark in 1835. Serpentine chest of drawers, Nathan Lumbard, Sturbridge, Mass. 1800. Cherry, mahogany banding, light- and dark-wood inlays, white pine. H. 37½, W. 41⅜, D. 21¾ in. Inscribed in pencil, probably in the hand of Enoch Pond, “Made by Nathan Lumbard Apl 20th 1800/Repaired by Enoch Pond March 21th 1837”; also inscribed in pencil in Lumbard’s hand, “Top,” on the upper side of each drawer divider and “Bot” on the underside of the case bottom. Private collection. Photo by Gavin Ashworth.