Purportedly from an Old Home in Jeffrey’s Neck, Ipswich, Massachusetts
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A small classic mid-18th century New England carved-dome-top box made of pine for storage of documents, valuables, or small household items. The domed lid is well-executed with a gentle curve; joinery includes treenails and tiny handwrought T-head finish nails. The soft blue/green (almost verdigris-like) paint over what appears to be an earlier or original ground layer contributes to a wonderful, layered “soulful” surface history – including wear at edges, crackling, and oxidation that can’t be imitated.
The carving is a standout… Chip-carved motifs and repeating starbursts (or compass-drawn flowers/sunbursts) with radiating petals, central circular medallions, and a distinctive central element on the lid and front combining initials “RC” [on top] flanked by stylized leaves or fronds, perhaps with a small crown-like or flame motif above. This is a very New England folk approach— geometric and floral, executed with confident but naïve hand-tool work (V-gouge and chisel marks visible in the depth and crispness). It’s not as ornate as the earlier 17th-century Ipswich oak pieces from Thomas Dennis’s shop (which features more elaborate Jacobean-inspired strapwork, lunettes, and S-scrolls in oak), but it feels like a later, simplified evolution in pine, perhaps from the same regional tradition of Essex County joiners and carvers. Ipswich was indeed a woodworking center well into the 18th century, with influences persisting from earlier makers.
The repeating floral/star motifs echo simpler versions of motifs seen in coastal Massachusetts pieces, distinct from the more elaborate Dutch-Frisian chip-carving which tends toward tighter geometric diamonds or lozenges in denser patterns.
History of Ownership: Christies, lot 322, January 15 and 16, 2004., Fae Haight who died in 2014 (obit. published – Antiquesand Arts Weekly, June 17, 2014., Stephen Douglas Antiques, Rockingham, Vermont to a private collection, thence to AAAWT.
Item Date: 1730 - 1760
Measurement: Height: 9"; Width: 15.25"; Depth: 9.25"
Material: Northeastern white pine, carved pegs, tiny hand-wrought finish nails.
Item Condition: Excellent, remarkably strong, especially considering age and use. There are several tight shrinkage fissures to top; lock hasp is missing… the hinge history shows a campaign of two retrofits including original wire snipes, and two early 19th century [installed] pair of butt hinges [one pair intact]. Scattered trivial surface wear/losses limited to case front and lid [high edges as shown]. The case and soulful surface display beautifully and are without compromise.
Price: $10,500
SKU 745-438
For More Information, Please Contact David Hillier at 978-597-8084 or email drh@aaawt.com.