CARVED MAHOGANY GRECIAN SOFA
In the manner of Duncan Phyfe (1770-1854)
New York, c. 1815
The scrolled crest rail with five inlaid panels of crotch mahogany bordered with brass stringing, the reeded arms with turned bosses continue to a reeded seat rail raised on reeded saber legs with brass paw feet on casters.
H: 32½” W: 84″ D: 26″
Condition: Excellent; Modern horsehair upholstery in the original pattern with conservation webbing and materials.
This is an iconic form in New York Classical furniture in the late-Sheraton style with influences of the French Directoire. The form is illustrated in plate 7 from The New York Book of Prices for Manufacturing Cabinet and Chair Work, 1817. It relates to many sofas documented to Duncan Phyfe, c. 1810-1815. Related Grecian sofas are illustrated in Nancy McClelland’s Duncan Phyfe and the English Regency 1795-1830 (New York: William R. Scott, Inc., 1939), 166-169, and in the catalog of the exhibition of Phyfe’s work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1] An other related sofa is in the collection of the New York State Museum in Albany.[2] The brass string inlay is a rare and desirable feature not found in any of the published examples.
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Detail of arm and leg -
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Sofa back side -
Brass string inlay borders five flame mahogany panels on the crest rail -
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Original cross braces support the upholstered seat
A related Grecian sofa is available on this website.
S-C-AAA-213151
[1] Peter M. Kenny & Michael K. Brown, Duncan Phyfe: Master Cabinetmaker in New York (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011), 185.
[2] Illustrated in John L. Scherer, New York Furniture: The Federal Period 1788-1825 (Albany: The University of the State of New York, 1988), 24.