Rare Saltonstall Joined and Carved Oak Chest over Drawer, south central Connecticut, c. 1690s.

Rare Saltonstall Joined and Carved Oak Chest over Drawer, south central Connecticut, c. 1690s. The case front with three recessed panels having carved bevel-edged and punch-decorated diamonds divided by molded stiles with a vertical arrangement of carved bevel-edged and punch-decorated squares; all below carved foliate scrolls, the front of the side hung drawer with carved mirrored foliate scroll divided by a pair of vertical carved and beveled rectangular devices; the sides with two recessed panels; the oak lid composed of three thin boards with simple beveled edges, originally attached to the body by a pair of wrought iron snipe hinges, opening to an interior with a restored oak till, (the lid appears to be original but has replaced battens on the underside, the till is restored and one wide panel of the interior bottom is replaced, drawer sides have patches due to wear, old surface, locks and hasps replaced, legs appear to be original height), 91cm wide, 43cm deep, 91cm high (36in wide, 17 3/4in deep, 36in high). Footnotes: Provenance By descent through the Saltonstall/Buck/Buckingham/Russell families of Connecticut. According to family tradition the chest can be traced to Sarah Saltonstall (1754-1828) of Wethersfield, Connecticut, granddaughter of Connecticut Governor Gurdon Saltonstall (1666-1724), who is thought to be the original owner of the chest. Sarah married Daniel Buck (1744-1808) of Wethersfield in 1775 and the chest passed through subsequent generations of the Buck, Buckingham and later Russell families to the present owner. Literature Illustrated and described in Irving Whitall Lyon, The Colonial Furniture of New England, (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1935), p. 10 and fig. 6, where it is described as a 'beautiful specimen' noting that it has unusually long legs. Note Nearly identical decorative elements consisting of carved, beveled and punch decorated square and diamond patterns and carved foliate scrolls are well documented on late 17th century chests from south central Connecticut. For similar examples see Connecticut Furniture Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, (Wadsworth Atheneum, 1967), figs. 11, 13, 14. Figure 14, although wider, bears striking similarities to the present piece with its nearly identical foliate scrolls and recessed panels with carved diamond patterning. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing