John Bivins, Jr.*
Early Carving in the South Carolina Low Country: The Career and Work of Henry Burnett

American Furniture 2003

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Bishop Roberts, Charleston, South Carolina, 1735–1739. Watercolor on paper. 15" x 43 3/8" (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Drayton Hall, Charleston County, South Carolina, 1738–1742. (Courtesy, Drayton Hall, National Trust for Historic Preservation; photo, Ron Blount.)

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    View of the chimneypiece in the great hall in Drayton Hall. (Courtesy, Drayton Hall, National Trust for Historic Preservation; photo, Wade Lawrence.)

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Tea table, Charleston, South Carolina, 1740–1750. Mahogany with cypress. H. 28 1/2", W. 29 1/4", D. 19 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.) The applied edge molding of the top is missing.

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Sideboard table, Charleston, South Carolina, 1740–1750. Mahogany with cypress. H. 30 1/4", W. 40", D. 22 3/4". (Collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.)

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Detail of the knee carving on the tea table illustrated in fig. 4.

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Detail of the knee carving on the sideboard table illustrated in fig. 5.

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Side chair, Charleston, South Carolina, 1740–1760. Mahogany with yellow pine and cypress. H. 38 3/4", W. 22 5/16", D. 18 1/4". (Collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Detail of the carving on the crest rail of the side chair illustrated in fig. 8.

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    St. Michael’s Church, 80 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina, 1752–1762. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    View of the interior of St. Michael’s Church. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Detail of the Ionic capital of a column supporting the gallery in St. Michael’s Church. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Pulpit in St. Michael’s Church. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Detail of a bracket on the stair leading to the gallery in St. Michael’s Church. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Detail of a stair bracket on the pulpit in St. Michael’s Church. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Detail of the Corinthian capital of a column supporting the hood of the pulpit in St. Michael’s Church. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Detail of the carving on one of the supports for the pulpit in St. Michael’s Church. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Benjamin Savage House, 59 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina, 1747–1750. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.) This residence is commonly referred to as the Branford-Horry House. The piazzas were added by William Branford’s son Elias, probably during the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    View of the chimneypiece in the principal room on the second floor of the Benjamin Savage House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Detail of the tablet appliqué on the chimneypiece illustrated in fig. 19. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Detail of the pulvinated frieze of the chimneypiece illustrated in fig. 19. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Detail of one of the floral appliqués of the architrave of the chimneypiece illustrated in fig. 19. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Detail of the keystone in the principal room on the second floor of the Benjamin Savage House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Detail of the keystone in the second floor hall of the Benjamin Savage House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    Detail of one of the metopie flowers in the first floor hall of the Benjamin Savage House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    John Cooper House, 94 Church Street, Charleston, South Carolina, 1745–1755. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.) This residence is commonly referred to as the Thomas Bee House. The architectural carving on the stair was added a few years after the house was built.

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    Staircase in the John Cooper House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 28
    Figure 28

    Detail of a stair bracket in the John Cooper House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 29
    Figure 29

    Detail of one of the metopie flowers on the stair frieze in the John Cooper House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 30
    Figure 30

    Detail of a keystone over a window in the John Cooper House. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 31
    Figure 31

    Detail of a lion head intended for use on the end of an anchor beam. (Courtesy, Old Sturbridge Village). This ornament was never attached.

  • Figure 32
    Figure 32

    Bureau and cabinet with carving attributed to Henry Burnett, Charleston, South Carolina, 1750–1755. Mahogany and mahogany veneer with cypress and mahogany. H. 93 1/4", W. 35 1/8", D. 20 1/2". (Collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.)

  • Figure 33
    Figure 33

    Design for a door on plate 26 in William Salmon’s Palladio Londinensis (1732). (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum Library.)

  • Figure 34
    Figure 34

    Overall view of the bureau and cabinet illustrated in figure 32, showing the interior of the upper section. The drawers in the cabinet are faced with mahogany veneer and have cross-banded edges that appear to be rosewood.

  • Figure 35
    Figure 35

    Detail of the pineapple ornament on the pediment of the bureau and cabinet illustrated in fig. 32.

  • Figure 36
    Figure 36

    Detail of the left rosette of the bureau and cabinet illustrated in fig. 32.

  • Figure 37
    Figure 37

    Detail of the small rosette on the capital of the left, exterior pilaster of the bureau and cabinet illustrated in fig. 32.

  • Figure 38
    Figure 38

    Desk-and-bookcase, Charleston, South Carolina, 1750–1755. Mahogany with cypress and mahogany. H. 97 3/4", W. 44 1/2", D. 24 1/4". (Collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.)

  • Figure 39
    Figure 39

    Detail of the small rosette on the capital of the left, exterior pilaster of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 38.

  • Figure 40
    Figure 40

    Detail of the shell ornament on the pediment of the desk-and-bookcase illustrated in fig. 38.

  • Figure 41
    Figure 41

    Dressing chest and cabinet, Charleston, South Carolina, 1755–1760. Mahogany and mahogany veneer with cypress and mahogany. H. 87 1/2", W. 46 1/2", D. 22 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.)

  • Figure 42
    Figure 42

    Detail of the right rosette of the dressing chest and cabinet illustrated in figure 41.

  • Figure 43
    Figure 43

    Sideboard table, Charleston, South Carolina, 1750–1760. Mahogany with cypress. H. 27 3/4", W. 31 1/4", D. 25 1/2". (Private collection; photography by Gavin Ashworth, NYC Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts.) This table has been reduced in width approximately sixteen inches.

  • Figure 44
    Figure 44

    Detail of the knee carving on the sideboard table illustrated in fig. 43.