Live Auction 2729Important American Furniture, Folk Art, Silver, Paintings and Prints including Masterworks from the Westervelt Company and Selections from Thomas Molesworth's Ranch A Commission
A PAIR OF FEDERAL MAHOGANY CANTERBURYS
Lot 49 PROPERTY FROM THE WESTERVELT COMPANY

A PAIR OF FEDERAL MAHOGANY CANTERBURYS

ATTRIBUTED TO DUNCAN PHYFE (1770-1854), NEW YORK, CIRCA 1840

Closed25 September 2013

Price Realised

USD 4,375

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A PAIR OF FEDERAL MAHOGANY CANTERBURYS
ATTRIBUTED TO DUNCAN PHYFE (1770-1854), NEW YORK, CIRCA 1840
20½ in. high, 19 1/8 in. wide, 14 in. deep (2)

Berry Tracy, New York
Israel Sack Inc., New York
Joseph H. Hirshhorn
Sold, Sotheby's, New York, The Collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 30 January 1982, lot 1098
Ronald S. Kane, New York
Sold, Christie's, New York, The Ronald S. Kane Collection, 22 January 1994, lot 416

Specialist note

A rare survival of a pair, these canterburys are identical to the example Duncan Phyfe (1770-1854) made for his daughter Eliza (Phyfe) Vail (1801-1890) and discussed in Peter M. Kenny and Michael K. Brown, Duncan Phyfe: Master Cabinetmaker in New York (New York, 2011), pp. 101, 103, fig. 128. Designed to hold music books, the form is associated with women and reflects the emphasis on musical accomplishments in female education.