Philadelphia Antiques Show 2024

84 PMA COL L ECT S FIGURE 6: Pair of Trick-Leg Card Tables Philadelphia, c. 1810 Mahogany, oak, tulip poplar, white cedar, brass, 28 1/2 × 36 × 17 3/4 inches Purchased with The Frank Joseph Saul and Joseph Donald O’Keefe Fund, and with the proceeds from the sale of deaccessioned works of art, 2021 cedar ( Juniperus bermudiana ) (on view in Gallery 102). Two early 19th century pieces of Philadelphia-made furniture acquired at TPS are a study in contrast: an 1812 Bishop’s Chair (Figure 7) was purchased from Sumpter Priddy, and a Child’s Sofa was purchased from Gary Sullivan. A rare survival, the diminutive Child’s Sofa (Figure 8) suggests the size of its sitters, while the oversized Bishop’s Chair calls attention to the vaulted status of its intended sitter (specifically, Bishop William White 1748–1836) when he was seated in it in the chancel of one of Philadelphia’s three Episcopal cathedrals. After an exciting research project, the original label of cabinetmaker Richard Alexander (1780–1823) was reunited with the Bishop’s Chair , which was made in 1812 for Saint James Episcopal Church (torn down in 1869) at Market and Ninth streets. 2 Before the acquisition of the Bishop’s Chair , little was known about Alexander, but now much is known about him and his work: the shop he leased from Bishop White, the number of journeymen and assistants he employed—including a free Black woman—and client accounts he maintained before his untimely death at the age of 43. In 2018, the museum added a characteristically Southern furniture form to its collection of furniture from the South: a Bottle Case on Stand (Figure 9) from Nathan Liverant & Son. Part of a small group of furniture most likely made in Tidewater, Virginia, the rich walnut stand is sparingly ornamented with lightwood inlay and retains its original drawer (used as a shelf) and interior bottle partitions. 3