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Sofa

(American, 1757–1811)
1799–1805
Object PlaceSalem, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/TechniqueMahogany, birch, ash, pine
DimensionsOverall: 102.9 x 204.5 x 71.1 cm (40 1/2 x 80 1/2 x 28 in.)
Credit LineThe M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts
Accession number23.21
On View
On view
ClassificationsFurniture
Collections
Description
Inspired by a design published in George Hepplewhite's "Cabinetmaker's and Upholsterer's Guide" (1788), this is one of the finest American sofas in the neoclassical style. The sofa descended in the Derby family and may have stood in this room, as the 1814 inventory of the parlor lists "1 sophia $50."
InscriptionsBlue printed label on front rail: "ART TREASURES EXHIBITION 1955. / New York / Antique / and / Art Dealers Ass'n, Inc." In ink next to "1955": "322"
ProvenanceFrom Derby and West families; and probably part of the furnishings of Oak Hill; to Miss Louisa Lander; to Miss Marth C. Codman by 1919; lent by Miss Martha C. Codman, May 25, 1921; given in 1923 and part of The M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts (Accession date January 4, 1923)
about 1823-1827
about 1795–1805
about 1795–1805
about 1795–1805
about 1808
about 1815–20
about 1800–15