RARE & IMPORTANT CARVED AND JOINED WETHERSFIELD, CONNECTICUT “SUNFLOWER” CHEST, 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY PETER BLIN (CIRCA 1640-1725).

Revised: 2/3/2014

As noted in catalog, the feet are replaced and were done so in the 20th centrury. In addition, this chest originally had 2 drawers which were removed during the period of use, probably in the 18th century.

RARE & IMPORTANT CARVED AND JOINED WETHERSFIELD, CONNECTICUT “SUNFLOWER” CHEST, 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY PETER BLIN (CIRCA 1640-1725). This very rare & early “sunflower chest” was the cover lot of Christie’s, New York “Important American Furniture, Silver, Folk Art and Decorative Arts” auction, on Wednesday, June 22, 1994. A copy of their original description follows: “The rectangular hinged and molded top opening to a single compartment fitted with a lidded till, the paneled exterior embellished by a reeded frieze above a carved triptych separated by applied column-and-urn-turned split balusters, each panel centering a relief-carved floral form on a punch-decoration ground, the sides embellished with applied bosses set in molded surround, the hole over an applied molded base on straight bracket feet (feet pieced 5-1/4in.) – 23-3/4in. high, 48 in. wide, 21in. deep”. SIZE: 48″ l x 21″ d x 24″ h. PROVENANCE: Joe Kindig, Jr. and son, York, Pennsylvania 1958. Christie’s New York, June 22, 1994 description continues: “As one of the most celebrated 17th century American furniture forms, the carved and joined Wethersfield “sunflower” chest represents a tour de force of the turner’s and joiner’s art, as well as a significant investment and status statement on the part of the owner. As with other documented examples of the form, the flamboyant carving and classically inspired turned embellishments of the sunflower chest illustrated here raises questions of manufacture, iconography and use. The majority of these case pieces have traditionally been attributed to the workshop of Peter Blin (c. 1639-1725; settled in the Wethersfield area after 1675), on the basis of a documented chest by Blin for Gershom Bulkeley (see Bulkeley, “A Discovery on the Connecticut Chest,” The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, XXIII, January 1958, pp. 17-19). While the turned and joined case pieces attributed to Blin share a similar design format, as well as the same wide, flat execution of the flanking tulip panels and additional floral embellishment above the principal flower of the central panel, the sheer number of these flower embellished forms attests to a larger network of shops in the Wethersfield area aware of an capable of producing the current fashion. A comparison of typical Wethersfield carving with English prototypes reveals the rich and significant design sources from which these transplanted English woodcarvers were drawing (see Kirk, John T. American Furniture and the British Tradition, New York, 1982, p. 116, fig. 294-296), and thus supports the idea of the general popularity of the motif, rather than its being the signature of any individual shop. Likewise, the central floral motif has variously been referred to as a peony, a sunflower, a marigold and a Tudor rose; while its flanking tulip motif has been interpreted a Dutch in origin and a popular symbol of the English Restoration. While the possibility exists that these motifs operated on a political symbolic level, it seems unlikely given chronology of the motifs and the larger popularity on an international level of related and easily confused floral motifs. (Kirk, P.91) that these images were anything more than aesthetically pleasing reminders of home. On a functional level, chests such as the example illustrated here served as sumptuous statements of wealth and good taste. They may also have served on a gender identification level as well. Scholarship on the carved chests and boxes of 17th century New England suggests that where plain board chests may have been intended for use by young men, more elaborately carved and joined chests may have been intended as a rite of passage or dowry gift for young women (see Ward, Barbara, et al. A place for Everything: Chests and Boxes in Early Colonial America, Winterhur, 1986, P. 7) Related examples to this include a chest attributed to Peter Blin and illustrated in Maynard, Henry P., Connecticut Furniture: Seventh and eighteenth Centuries. Hartford 1967, fig. 15, p. 11; a chest with similarly elongated pendant lobes on the split-balusters and illustrated in the The Girl Scout Loan Exhibition, New York, 1929, no. 504 (owed by Mrs. Francis P. Garvan); and a chest in the collection of Old Sturbridge Village, illustrated in Comstock, Helen, American Furniture, Exton, Pennsylvania, 1962, fig. 53, Related carved forms include a chest with drawers illustrated in Lefebvre, Judith Connecticut Masters: The Fine Arts and Antiques Collection of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. Hartford, 1991, pp. 204-205; a chest with drawers with similar pendant lobes formerly in the Fearing Collection and illustrated in Sack, American Furniture from Israel Sack Collection, Vol. 3, brochure 21, P3192; a chest with drawers possibly by Peter Blin with similarly laid out flanking tulips and similar central sunflower with additional crowning foliate motif illustrated in, Ward Gerald W. R., American Case Furniture in the Mabel Brady Garvan and Other Collections at Yale University, New Haven, 1988, fig. 26; and a cupboard attributed to Peter Blin in the collection of Yale University Art Gallery is illustrated in Fairbanks and Trent, New England Begins: The Seventeenth Century, vol. 2 Mentality and Environment, Boston, 1982, fig. 257, p. 266.” CONDITION: Very good overall condition. Minor shrinkage split in top. Very minor worm damage to top. Rectangular feet are replaced. 9-92265 (10,000-20,000)

Auction: Fine Art, Antiques & Asian - Winter 2014

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2222	$11,850.00	Revised: 2/3/2014 As noted in catalog, the feet are replaced and were done so in the 20th centrury. In addition, this chest originally had 2 drawers which were removed during the period of use, probably in the 18th century. RARE & IMPORTANT CARVED AND JOINED WETHERSFIELD, CONNECTICUT “SUNFLOWER” CHEST, 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY PETER BLIN (CIRCA 1640-1725). This very rare & early “sunflower chest” was the cover lot of Christie’s, New York “Important American Furniture, Silver, Folk Art and Decorative Arts” auction, on Wednesday, June 22, 1994. A copy of their original description follows: “The rectangular hinged and molded top opening to a single compartment fitted with a lidded till, the paneled exterior embellished by a reeded frieze above a carved triptych separated by applied column-and-urn-turned split balusters, each panel centering a relief-carved floral form on a punch-decoration ground, the sides embellished with applied bosses set in molded surround, the hole over an applied molded base on straight bracket feet (feet pieced 5-1/4in.) – 23-3/4in. high, 48 in. wide, 21in. deep”. SIZE: 48″ l x 21″ d x 24″ h. PROVENANCE: Joe Kindig, Jr. and son, York, Pennsylvania 1958. Christie’s New York, June 22, 1994 description continues: “As one of the most celebrated 17th century American furniture forms, the carved and joined Wethersfield “sunflower” chest represents a tour de force of the turner’s and joiner’s art, as well as a significant investment and status statement on the part of the owner. As with other documented examples of the form, the flamboyant carving and classically inspired turned embellishments of the sunflower chest illustrated here raises questions of manufacture, iconography and use. The majority of these case pieces have traditionally been attributed to the workshop of Peter Blin (c. 1639-1725; settled in the Wethersfield area after 1675), on the basis of a documented chest by Blin for Gershom Bulkeley (see Bulkeley, “A Discovery on the Connecticut Chest,” The Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin, XXIII, January 1958, pp. 17-19). While the turned and joined case pieces attributed to Blin share a similar design format, as well as the same wide, flat execution of the flanking tulip panels and additional floral embellishment above the principal flower of the central panel, the sheer number of these flower embellished forms attests to a larger network of shops in the Wethersfield area aware of an capable of producing the current fashion. A comparison of typical Wethersfield carving with English prototypes reveals the rich and significant design sources from which these transplanted English woodcarvers were drawing (see Kirk, John T. American Furniture and the British Tradition, New York, 1982, p. 116, fig. 294-296), and thus supports the idea of the general popularity of the motif, rather than its being the signature of any individual shop. Likewise, the central floral motif has variously been referred to as a peony, a sunflower, a marigold and a Tudor rose; while its flanking tulip motif has been interpreted a Dutch in origin and a popular symbol of the English Restoration. While the possibility exists that these motifs operated on a political symbolic level, it seems unlikely given chronology of the motifs and the larger popularity on an international level of related and easily confused floral motifs. (Kirk, P.91) that these images were anything more than aesthetically pleasing reminders of home. On a functional level, chests such as the example illustrated here served as sumptuous statements of wealth and good taste. They may also have served on a gender identification level as well. Scholarship on the carved chests and boxes of 17th century New England suggests that where plain board chests may have been intended for use by young men, more elaborately carved and joined chests may have been intended as a rite of passage or dowry gift for young women (see Ward, Barbara, et al. A place for Everything: Chests and Boxes in Early Colonial America, Winterhur, 1986, P. 7) Related examples to this include a chest attributed to Peter Blin and illustrated in Maynard, Henry P., Connecticut Furniture: Seventh and eighteenth Centuries. Hartford 1967, fig. 15, p. 11; a chest with similarly elongated pendant lobes on the split-balusters and illustrated in the The Girl Scout Loan Exhibition, New York, 1929, no. 504 (owed by Mrs. Francis P. Garvan); and a chest in the collection of Old Sturbridge Village, illustrated in Comstock, Helen, American Furniture, Exton, Pennsylvania, 1962, fig. 53, Related carved forms include a chest with drawers illustrated in Lefebvre, Judith Connecticut Masters: The Fine Arts and Antiques Collection of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. Hartford, 1991, pp. 204-205; a chest with drawers with similar pendant lobes formerly in the Fearing Collection and illustrated in Sack, American Furniture from Israel Sack Collection, Vol. 3, brochure 21, P3192; a chest with drawers possibly by Peter Blin with similarly laid out flanking tulips and similar central sunflower with additional crowning foliate motif illustrated in, Ward Gerald W. R., American Case Furniture in the Mabel Brady Garvan and Other Collections at Yale University, New Haven, 1988, fig. 26; and a cupboard attributed to Peter Blin in the collection of Yale University Art Gallery is illustrated in Fairbanks and Trent, New England Begins: The Seventeenth Century, vol. 2 Mentality and Environment, Boston, 1982, fig. 257, p. 266.” CONDITION: Very good overall condition. Minor shrinkage split in top. Very minor worm damage to top. Rectangular feet are replaced. 9-92265 (10,000-20,000) Auction: Fine Art, Antiques & Asian - Winter 2014 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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