AFA Summer 2018

2018 Antiques & Fine Art 113 Hanover, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, before moving to Reading. A saddle maker by profession, Richards served in the Revolution, and became a merchant, a Berks County judge, and U.S. Congressman. By the time of his death in 1830, Richards had accumulated household furnishings worth more than $730, including two card tables worth $10. 5 Of particular note is the card table’s curvaceous top—a serpentine with ovolo ends—heretofore identified on only a tiny fraction of American card tables made in only a few areas, namely Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Newburyport, and now Reading, Pennsylvania. 6 By far the most impressive piece of Muhlenberg family furniture yet to be uncovered, this mahogany chest-on-chest was consigned to auction in 2015 and subsequently acquired by the Wunsch Americana Foundation (Figs. 5, 5a). It survived in largely original condition—including a spectacular carved shell—but suffered from having replaced brasses, finials, and plinths; poor old repairs to the drawer fronts; and missing appliqué carving in the pediment. Restored by furniture conservator Keith Lackman and woodcarvers Rob McCullough and Fred Hoover, clear witness marks enabled the original brasses to be accurately replaced, while the holes left by later brasses were expertly patched to blend into the figured mahogany drawer fronts. The outline of the original appliqué carving was traced onto mylar and drawings made in keeping with the original shell carving; these became the basis for new appliqués which were then carved and glued onto the tympanum. New finials and plinths were also made; in the process of studying surviving evidence of the central plinth, the tail end of a dovetailed cartouche support was discovered. This feature may be restored in the future, but for now the eight-foot ceilings in the Henry Muhlenberg House, where the chest-on-chest is currently displayed, do not allow for such. The original owner of the chest-on-chest is uncertain, as the family branch in which it descended derives from both Frederick Muhlenberg and his brother Henry Jr. due to intermarriages between cousins in the 1800s. The most likely scenario is that it was first owned by Frederick, who died prematurely in 1801 while living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; many of his household goods were sold at auction and some were acquired by Henry Jr., who also lived in Lancaster. The original maker is also unclear, but Leonard Kessler (1737–1804) of Philadelphia is a likely candidate. One of the city’s leading German cabinetmakers, Kessler was a member of St. Michael’s and Zion Lutheran Church. He is mentioned frequently in the journals of Henry Muhlenberg and is the only cabinetmaker the Muhlenbergs are known to have patronized while they lived in Philadelphia from 1761 to 1776. 7 The chest-on-chest has anomalies, including a lack of quarter columns and the layout of the appliqué carving. Rather than f lowing outward from the central shell, the carving instead emanates from the corners and flows toward the shell. Given that Fig. 4a: Detail of inlay on the card table illustrated in figure 4. Photo by Gavin Ashworth.