Gothic Armoire

About the Item

FAPG 19959D/2 Gothic Revival armoire New York, about 1835-1840 Mahogany, with brass hardware Measure: 104 in. high, 73 in. wide, 30 in. deep Exhibited: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 2011–12, The World of Duncan Phyfe: The Arts of New York, 1800–1847, p. 89 no. 45 illus. 89 Ex coll.: Private collection (probably R. H. Selstadt, Big Stone Gap, Virginia) Although no specific pieces of Gothic furniture documented as by Duncan Phyfe have come to light, there is considerable evidence that he, like various of his contemporaries in New York, embraced the Gothic style. For example, the catalogue of the Halliday & Jenkins auction sale of the contents of Phyfe’s furniture ware rooms, which was held on site at 192 and 194 Fulton Street, New York, on April 16 and 17, 1847, included a “mahogany centre table Gothic gilt pillar and Egyptian marble top” (Halliday & Jenkins, p. 3 no. 63); “12 mahogany Gothic chairs tufted seats” (p. 5 no. 102); “6 mahogany Gothic pattern Chairs” (ibid., p. 5 no. 106 [incorrectly given as 606]); “1 large mahogany Writing Table and Book Case, glass doors, Gothic top & c. (ibid., p. 9 no. 204); 1 very splendid rosewood Davenport Writing Desk, 4 tray Drawers, scroll standards, Gothic pannels [sic] and plate glass fronts, lined with wht silk” (ibid., p. 14 no. 291); “12 mahogany chairs. Gothic pattern” (p. 17 no. 353 [incorrectly numbered 453]); “and 1 mahogany cylinder fall desk and bookcase, glass doors, Gothic top” (ibid., p. 18 no. 375). Cumulatively, these and other similar entries suggest the Scope of Phyfe’s involvement in a style that became a significant force in American decorative arts, starting with some “survivals” of eighteenth century Gothic early in the nineteenth century, among them pointed and ogee arches on the glazed doors of secretary bookcases, which were certainly in use well before they appeared in The New-York Book of Prices of 1817, and escalating to considerable dominance in the 1830s and 1840s. The present armoire, more ecclesiastical in aspect than much of the Gothic-revival furniture made in New York at this time, is a monumental piece where the two doors, together featuring a suite of four matching veneered panels each overlaid at the top by Gothic tracery, are flanked by a pair of attenuated clustered columns. The doors are capped by an applied molding that is like a “Gothicized” traditional egg and dart molding, and the whole piece is surmounted by an elaborate free–standing, openwork cornice composed of a variety of Gothic motifs. Its Gothic ornament notwithstanding, the piece still retains the aspect of a neoclassical armoire, the profile of the base and the cornice following a Meeksian or Grecian “pillar and scroll” aesthetic of the mid to late 1830s. From the standpoint of craftsmanship, the armoire is a spectacular performance, beautifully made, and incorporating a splendid array of carefully selected solid mahogany and mahogany veneers. The columns at the right and left and the woods surrounding the veneered door panels are made of a rare striped mahogany that one sees throughout the work of Duncan Phyfe—likely the “zebra wood” referred to in the Halliday & Jenkins catalogue (pp. 4, no. 92, 14 no. 304, etc.)—and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that pieces such as this originated in the Phyfe shop. Condition: Excellent. Cleaned and French polished. Minor veneer repairs throughout. Some of the interior drawer knobs have been replaced.

Dimensions:
Height: 104 in (264.16 cm)Width: 73 in (185.42 cm)Depth: 30 in (76.2 cm)
Style:
Gothic Revival (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Brass,Mahogany
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1840-1849
Condition:
Repaired. Condition: Excellent. Cleaned and French polished. Minor veneer repairs throughout. Some of the interior drawer knobs have been replaced.
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: FAPG 19959D/21stDibs: LU9032784546