Washstands

Date1795-1805

Terms

Washstands
Birch
Mahogany
Pine
Satinwood
Concord (Massachusetts)
Boston

Dimensions71.12 × 39.37 × 39.37 cm (28 × 15 1/2 × 15 1/2 in.)

Credit LineGift of Cummings E. Davis (1886)

Object numberF1004

DescriptionHepplewhite. Front feet are curved. Lower front has a veneered panel of grained satinwood. Panel and small drawer set flush in the middle of it, are surrounded by narrow bands of inlay in geometric design. Similar bands edge the upper and lower aprons. From Wood's article (on file): "...[this stand] previously attributed to the Seymours by Vernon C. Stoneman in the 1965 supplement to his pioneering work, "John and Thomas Seymour, Cabinetmakers in Boston 1794-1816" (Boston: Special Publications, 1959). [This stand] belonged to John Richardson, a taverner in Concord, was included by Stoneman in his survey of the Seymours on the basis of its overall design, its flame-grained veneer panels, and its dark-and-light saw-tooth stringing. Nothing in the stand's construction, however, is consistent with Seymour shop practice as described by Mussey. In addition, the workmanship is neat, but not meticulous, as would be expected: Mill saw marks, for instance, were left on the underside of the drawer bottom, and the edges of the upper and lower shelves were simply rounded off. Neither the design nor the construction clearly indicates the stand's exact origin. It may have come from Boston, though several of Richardson's neighbors in Concord--the cabinetmaker William Munroe, for instance, or either of his journeymen, James Adams or Ebenezer Wood--were capable of making it...." See F1116 for comparison.

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