Neal Auction Important Estates September 2015

8 17. Very Rare American Renaissance Burled, Gilt-Incised, Parcel Ebonized, Bronze-Mounted and Marquetry Center Table , c. 1870, New York, oblong top with central reserve of tigers in a jungle setting, urns and floral border; stop-fluted legs, shaped stretchers centering an urn, pad feet, casters, h. 31 in., w. 55 in., d. 30 in. $12000/20000 Provenance: The Service Collection, Estate of Grant A. Oakes, Warren, OH. Note: The proportions, form and fine inlay on this table, relate to three well-known center tables, one conserved by the Museum of the City of New York; one at the Art institute of Chicago (acc. 1993.122); and a third sold by Neal Auction Company as lot 192, September 13, 2014. The marquetry on the top of the Art Institute of Chicago example is signed “J. Cremer” for Joseph Cremer. The examples mentioned above have similar stretcher configuration and modified hoof feet to those seen here. Ref.: Johnson, Marilynn. 19th-Centry America: Furniture and Other Decorative Arts (New York, 1970), fig. 188; Laux, Barbara. “The Furniture Mounts of P.E. Guerin,” The Magazine Antiques (May 2002), pp. 140-149. 18. Rare American Rococo Carved and Laminated Rosewood Méridienne , c. 1850-1860, attr. to the “Bird Pattern” Maker, New York, undulating reticulated crest, serpentine seat rail, cabriole legs, casters, h. 43 1/2 in., w. 71 1/2 in., d. 29 in. $3000/5000 Provenance: The Service Collection, Estate of Grant A. Oakes, Warren, OH. Note: Several features seen here relate to known “Bird Pattern” examples of seat furniture made in New York City in the middle of the 19th c.; notably: the distinctive reticulation of the crestrail, form of the central crest and sophisticated seven-layer laminated construction and dramatic reticulation, the construction of the rear legs, and the molded form of the arm support, seatrail and front legs. Ref.: An identical méridienne to the lot offered here is illustrated in Meyer, Priscilla. Victorian Detail, a Working Dictionary . Armonk, NY: Oak Cottage Farm, p. 32. 19. American Gothic Carved and Grained Rosewood Dressing Chest , c. 1840, crocketed mirror, fluted supports, marble top with outset chamfered corners, conforming case with 3 paneled drawers, shaped feet, h. 96 1/2 in., w. 51 1/2 in., d. 25 in. $7000/10000 Provenance: Acquired c. 1974 from a St. Charles Avenue home, New Orleans. Note: Bedroom furniture in the Gothic Revival mode is rare, as taste makers like Alexander Jackson Davis and Pugin favored forms for foyers, libraries and parlors. Examples of Gothic Revival bedroom furniture with the monumental proportions and fine execution of this dresser and washstand in the subsequent lot are known from the Henry Clay/ Rosedown suite by Crawford Riddell and an important bed from the collection of Lee Anderson. Ref: Dallas Museum of Art (acc. 2000. 324). www.dma.org/ collection/artwork/crawford-riddell/ bed; Sotheby’s, New York, lot 471, January, 2013. 20. American Gothic Carved Rosewood Washstand , c. 1840, crocketed inset marble backsplash, with outset chamfered corners, marble top, drawer, arched panel doors below, shaped feet, found en suite with preceding lot h. 60 in., w. 40 1/2 in., d. 24 in. $4000/6000 Provenance: Acquired c. 1974 from a St. Charles Avenue home, New Orleans.