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19th C Antique Pennsylvania Federal Cherry & Tiger Maple Butlers Desk / Chest

19th C Antique Pennsylvania Federal Cherry & Tiger Maple Butlers Desk / Chest

Regular price $4,875.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $4,875.00 USD
Sale Sold out

Bay Colony Antique is extremely proud to offer for sale this fantastic 19th century antique Pennsylvania Cherry & Tiger Maple Butlers desk. The desk was made CA 1820/1830 probably in Philadelphia. Philadelphia was home to many successful19th century cabinet makers such as Anthony Quervelle, Charles White, Michel Bouvier, Joseph Barry, Thomas Cook, Richard Parkin, and many more. These men took over the responsibility of furnishing the homes of Philadelphia's elite, a job once belonging to some of Americas most celebrated cabinet makers like Benjamin Randolph, Thomas Affleck, & William Savery. The desk has a very similar interior to known Anthony Quervelle pieces most notably the steeple scrolling. Quervelle & Bouvier were probably the most "trendy" at the time with a lot their own unique designs inspired from existing cabinet makers handbooks altered for local early 19th century tastes. When looking at Philadelphia furniture from this period a lot of the cabinet makers were producing very similar looking pieces because that’s what their clientele wanted. Because of this, it can be hard to attribute a specific shop with 100% certainty but this was clearly made in a highly skilled cabinet shop.

The desk is crafted from bold grain Tiger Maple with the grain orientated vertically on the drawer faces and horizontally on the vertical elements. The upper drawer houses a butlers section with 6 interior drawers arranged in a 4 over 2 layout. The interior has 6 standard pigeon holes with a scalloped scrolling pattern and 3 with a dramatic arch or steeple scrolling indicative of the area. The upper drawer has a cross banded Mahogany border around the edge and all the drawers have cock bead molded faces with newer high quality embossed brass pulls with a Scottish Thistle design. The lower drawers are flanked by fully formed Tiger Maple columns with ringlet turnings & vibrant Crotch Mahogany panels above on both sides of the butlers section. The chest has a Cherry top with a Tiger Maple edge banding and Cherry panels on the sides. The chest has a 3 panel back and we’ve attached a few pictures showing the hand chamfered panels and the impressively thin dovetail set on the drawers. The desk is in fantastic condition with our only notes being very minimal surface wear & the replaced pulls. The desk measures 44 1/2” wide x 21 1/2” deep x 47 3/4” tall. The writing surface measures 35” wide x 18 1/2” deep with 34 1/2” of clearance under the lid when flipped down. 

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