Lot Details
Lot 229
Federal Inlaid Mahogany Pembroke Table
Attributed to the workshop of John Bankson, Baltimore, circa 1795-1800
The rectangular top and leaves above a plain frieze inlaid with a Federal eagle above each bellflower inlaid square tapering leg. Height 28 3/4 inches, width 30 1/2 inches, depth 18 7/8 inches.
Literature:
Sumpter Priddy III, J. Michael Flanigan, and Gregory Weidman. "The Genesis of Neoclassical Style in Baltimore Furniture" in American Furniture, ed. Luke Beckerdite, 2000, pp. 59-99.
A similar table is in the State Department's collection and is catalogued and pictured in Clement E. Conger (ed). Treasures of State. Harry N. Abrams, New York: 1991, pp. 266-267.
The partnership between John Bankson originally from Philadelphia, and Richard Lawson of Yorkshire, England began in 1785 and dissolved seven years later in 1792. It has been argued that their shop, (the largest in Baltimore at the time) established the Neoclassical style in the Baltimore area with their high quality of workmanship and use of intricate decorative inlays.
Richard Lawson left Seddon and Sons, the fashionable London cabinetmakers, for Baltimore in 1785. With his knowledge of the latest style and his craftsmanship skills, a cabinet shop of his own would have presumably done very well. However, it was through his partnership with John Bankson, a man with connections to many important families in the region, that allowed them the level of success they achieved. Over the seven years they worked together their shop became the most important in Baltimore catering to the most prominent clientele in the city, as well as shipping their product to other cities including Charleston, South Carolina. The Bankson and Lawson firm defined the Neoclassical style in Baltimore furniture.
In late December 1792, Bankson and Lawson dissolved their partnership. John Bankson seems to have retained all the tools, materials, cabinet work and imported goods, and by early 1793 he had formed a partnership with Robert Wilkinson.
It was within this partnership, drawing heavily from Lawson's influence that the table offered here was most likely created.
The use of four eagle inlays, as well as the distinctive style of eagle on the offered lot, are typical of Baltimore Federal furniture, and in particular the workshop of Bankson and Lawson. Also typical to turn of the 19th century Baltimore furniture is the inlay used at the cuffs of the legs, and at the apron, and the way the bellflowers are suspended from 'loops'. The use of oak as a secondary wood was also typical of Baltimore furniture of the period.
The table was attributed to the workshop of John Bankson, by Sumpter Priddy III of Sumpter Priddy III, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia.
Additional Notes & Condition Report
Distress to finish at top.
Losses to banding at apron and cuffs.
Loss of wood over hinge on one drop leaf.
Top probably reset.
Minor edgewear.
Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.
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