Neal Auction Company
Lot 1050
An American Aesthetic Carved, Ebonized and Inlaid Cherrywood, Rosewood, Birdseye Maple and Maple Étagère/Desk, late 19th c., attributed to Herter Brothers, New York, stepped pediment, central fall front opening to fitted interior of drawers and compartments, flanking pedestals each with upper drawer, columnar uprights, mirrored back, the whole with medial drawers, pedestal base with bossed brackets, low shelf with gallery, shaped feet, reverse left branded "JNF(?)", height 67 in., width 41 1/4 in., depth 14 3/4 in. Provenance: Acquired from a California Estate, c. 1980. Note: An identical Herter étagère/desk of walnut and maple is in the collection of Michael and Margie Loeb, New York, and illustrated in Old House Interiors. Herter is known for juxtaposing finishes and colors on identical forms to continually create "one-of-a-kind originals". This is seen in side chairs made for the drawing room of the Vanderbilt residence, New York and for the Hopkins residence, San Francisco, as well as cabinets in the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia (acc. 1981-1000.51) and also Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Oyster Bay, New York (acc. SAHI.1.1384). Reference: Coleman, Brian, "Manhattan Aesthetic", Old House Interiors, October/November 2002, Vol. VIII, No. 6, pp.61-67; Howe, Katherine S., Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen et al. Herter Brothers: Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age, 1994, pp. 177-179, fig. 25, 26.
