Comments on: Herter Brothers Ebonized Fall-Front Desk

By: misslilybart

misslilybart — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:33:53 +0000

The provenance of this piece includes “Illustrated, Figure XII-I, p. 248, Oscar Fitzgerald, “Three Centuries of American Furniture”,” a copy of which my husband just handed to me, opened to page 248… the auction description is largely “borrowed” from the photo caption, omitting hyperbole and descriptors like ‘exquisite,’ ‘beautiful’ and ‘typical,’ reading thusly: “Ladies writing desk. Ebonized cherry, New York, 1870-1880.
Branded on the back is the maker’s name, “Herter Bros.” The exquisite inlay of grape vines, stylized chrysanthemums, and a beautiful butterfly and the typical piston feet enliven this and other fine pieces produced by this firm. The gallery of spindles flanking the shelf above the writing surface is a motif found on even the cheapest Eastlake furniture. The light satinwood or maple inlay on the fall-front and on the interior contrasts with the dark, ebonized cherry. Ebonizing connoted richness because hard ebony was an exotic and expensive wood to work with. The light green, patterned velvet behind the shelf adds and additional touch of color.”

By: misslilybart

misslilybart — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:30:12 +0000

John, I’m not a subscriber either, so I can’t see the sale date or price.

By: johnwerry

johnwerry — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:24:42 +0000

Trying out a new comments plugin…

No worries, MLB. As a non-subscriber to p4a I can't see the price realized on that one. Did you happen to see a realized price anywhere?

By: misslilybart

misslilybart — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:58:55 +0000

Mea culpa, RV, I should have made it clear that it was the auction house’s I have a quibble with…

My husband went through his archives and turned up two more desks like this one. One was in a dealer’s booth (at one of the Victorian Victorian Decorative Arts shows held @ the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC, in the mid-1990s), and was missing most of its gallery. I regret I have only a very poor image from a newspaper clipping of that example; it had the same fabric as the 2002 Fontaines desk. The other is this one: http://preview.tinyurl.com/6hb3a4, with purple (?) fabric insert, which also went through Fontaines at some point.

By: james conrad

james conrad — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:14:33 +0000

Very nice, i just wish the pic’s were better, its difficult to see. With a signed piece such as this, one would think a professional photographer would be within the marketing budget.

By: RareVictorian

RareVictorian — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:24:35 +0000

Thanks MLB. On the foliage, that’s why I left it as their quote since I felt it was probably something else.

By: misslilybart

misslilybart — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:19:53 +0000

A nearly identical Herter desk, with a different fabric insert and apparently sans brand (since it was “attributed to…”) was sold @ Fontaine’s in 2002, for $39,200. [see http://antiquesandthearts.com/AW0-03-19-2002-11-38-04

Perhaps the reiteration of the marquetry is an indication that these desks were produced for "stock" rather than for a specific client/commission? The firm also produced a striking, more "English" variant of the form, being clearly indebted to the designs of E.W. Godwin, who was in turn influenced by Japanese furniture. [See plate 224, Nineteenth-Century Design from Pugin to Mackintosh, by Gere and Whiteway]

And as a small nit-pick, the foliage depicted is not a grapevine. I believe it may instead be a passion flower vine.