Philip Zea
The Serpentine Furniture of Colonial Newport

American Furniture 1999

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Georg Daniel Flohr, View of Newport, ca. 1780–1781. Ink and watercolor on paper. (Courtesy, Bibliotheque Municipale, Strasbourg, France.)

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Commode attributed to John Goddard, Newport, Rhode Island, 1760–1775. Mahogany with chestnut and white pine; marble. H. 34 3/4", W. 36 3/4", D. 21 1/2". (Courtesy, Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Commode, probably Paris, France, ca. 1735. Oak. Dimensions not recorded. (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, bequest of Susan Greene Dexter in memory of Charles and Martha Babcock Amony.

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Carcass of the commode illustrated in fig. 2. (Courtesy, Sack Heritage Group) www.sackheritagegroup.com

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Underside of the commode illustrated in fig. 2. (Courtesy, Sack heritage Group) www.sackheritagegroup.com

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Detail of the back of a dressing table made by Job Townsend, Jr., for Samuel Ward, Sr., Newport, Rhode Island, 1746. (Courtesy, Chipstone Foundation; photo, Jonathan Prown.)

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Drawer of the commode illustrated in fig. 2. (Courtesy, Sack Heritage Group) www.sackheritagegroup.com

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Commode attributed to John Goddard, Newport, Rhode Island, 1765–1775. Mahogany with red cedar, chestnut, and pine. H. 35 1/4", W. 51 1/2", D. 27 1/4". (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, gift of Mary Bowen Polk in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Calliper Bowen.)

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Commode, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1780–1790. Butternut and white pine. H. 34 1/4", W. 47 1/4", D. 24 3/4". (Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, gift of Mrs. Dorothy Buhler in memory of Sarah M. Gilbert, gift of Estelle S. Frankfurter, and gift of John Gardner Green Estate, by exchange.)

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Jonas Bergner, drawing of John Goddard’s house and shop, Newport, Rhode Island, before 1870. Watercolor on paper. (Courtesy, Newport Historical Society.) The house and shop were built before 1758.

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Tea table made by John Goddard, Newport, Rhode Island, 1763. Mahogany with tulip poplar. H. 26 7/8", W. 32 3/4", D. 20 3/8". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.)

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Roundabout chair attributed to John Goddard, Newport, Rhode Island, 1760–1775. Mahogany with maple and white pine. H. 31", W. 25 1/2", D. 17 1/2". (Courtesy, Shelburne Museum.)

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Side chair, Newport, Rhode Island, 1791–1792. Sabicu and maple. H. 37 3/4", W. 20 1/8", D. 20 1/8". (Courtesy, Winterthur Museum.) The chair is one of a pair that descended in the Almy-Ellery-Bangs families of Newport.

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    “Backs of Chairs” illustrated on pl. 16 in the third edition of Thomas Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1762). (Courtesy, Historic Deerfield, Inc.; photo, Penny Leveritt.)

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Sideboard table made by John Goddard, Newport, Rhode Island, 1755. Mahogany with maple and chestnut; marble. H. 26 3/4", W. 45 1/2 ", D. 21 7/8". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Detail of a front leg of the side-
    board table illustrated in fig. 15. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Sideboard table attributed to John Goddard, Newport, Rhode Island, 1755–1770. Mahogany with maple; marble. H. 29", W. 45", D. 21 3/4". (Courtesy, The Preservation Society of Newport County; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Detail of the right front leg of the sideboard table illustrated in fig. 17. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Detail of the right rear leg of the sideboard table illustrated in fig. 17. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Sideboard table, Newport, Rhode Island, 1755–1775. Mahogany with maple; marble (replaced). H. 27 1/4", W. 31 1/2", D. 18 1/2". (Private collection; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 21
    Figure 21

    Detail of the right front leg of the sideboard table illustrated in fig. 20. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 22
    Figure 22

    Detail of the right rear leg of the sideboard table illustrated in fig. 20. (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 23
    Figure 23

    Sideboard table attributed to the shop of John Goddard, Newport, Rhode Island, 1760–1775. Mahogany and mahogany veneer with maple and white pine; marble. H. 28", W. 50", D. 17". (Courtesy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Vincent D. Andrus, 1962 (62.138a,b) Photograph © Te Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

  • Figure 24
    Figure 24

    Side table attributed to John Goddard and Job Townsend, Jr., Newport, Rhode Island, 1750–1765. Mahogany with red cedar. H. 30", W. 50", D. 25". (Courtesy, Redwood Library and Newport Preservation Society; photo, Gavin Ashworth.)

  • Figure 25
    Figure 25

    “French Commode Table” illustrated on pl. 64 in the third edition of Thomas Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (1762). (Courtesy, Historic Deerfield, Inc.; photo, Penny Leveritt.)

  • Figure 26
    Figure 26

    J. P. Newell, detail of “NEWPORT, R.I. IN 1730,” Boston, 1864. Lithograph. 18" x 28". (Courtesy, Historic Deerfield, Inc.; photo, Penny Leveritt.) This lithograph, printed by J. H. Bufford, is after an overmantle painting from the Phillips House on Mill Street. The painting is owned by the Newport Art Museum. The date in Newell’s title is incorrect. The overmantle painting is dated 1740 based on the construction of the Colony House in 1739 and the extension of Long Wharf in 1741.

  • Figure 27
    Figure 27

    Fireplace surround installed in Godfrey Malbone, Jr.’s, house by John Stevens, Jr., Newport, Rhode Island, 1749. Marble. H. 49 1/2", W. 68", D. 6 3/4". (Courtesy, Newport Historical Society; photo Gavin Ashworth.)