A Federal mahogany sofa with typically Irish rope twist legs. UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600 AT HAMMER
The Irish furniture connections between émigré cabinet makers working in Philadelphia, such as Joseph Barry and Henry Connelly, is particularly apparent in this Federal mahogany sofa which comes up as lot 100 at the James Adam Library Collection sale in Dublin on May 1. It is estimated at €3,000-€5,000. Amongst the highlights of the sale is the collection of over 80 lots of furniture, clocks, porcelain, glass and decorative effects from ‘Dawesfield’, an iconic Pennsylvania farmhouse built by Abraham Dawes c1728. The property is on the US National Register of Historic Places because the house served as General George Washington’s headquarters after the Battle of Germantown from October 20 to November 2, 1777 during the revolutionary wars. This collection, never previously on the market, has come down by descent through the generations of the female line, and has been in Ireland for the last three decades or so.
It includes a Chippendale corner cabinet, lot 106 (€2,000/3,000), a Federal dining table, lot 126 (€700/1,000), a set of eight dining chairs,lot 125 (€1,500/2,500) and a Chippendale four poster bed c1775, lot 130 (€3,000/5,000). An unusual oak Schrank (a wardrobe of traditional southern German design), lot 129 (€6,000/10,000) is likely to have been used by George Washington during his stay in Dawesfield in 1777. Also from Dawesfield is a collection of books from the library of Dr Thomas James who was married to Hannah Morris, a descendant of Abraham Dawes.
A Federal dining table from Dawesfield. UPDATE: THIS WAS UNSOLD
