A Classical Armoire

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Circa 1830
Attributed to Cook & Parkin

This monumental winged armoire has four beautifully matched, mottled, and crotch mahogany veneered doors. A central door is fitted with a brass astragal. The interior is appointed with two shelves and four drawers which have been veneered in bird’s-eye maple and been freehand painted to resemble ebony inlays terminating in volutes with anthemia. The cornice is embellished with large semicircular ornaments centering a pediment. The case is supported by large semicircular feet. Winged armoires were the most expensive furniture forms described in the Philadelphia Cabinet and Chair Maker’s Union Book for Manufacturing Cabinet Ware when printed in 1828.

This example is attributed to Thomas Cook and Richard Parkin based on a labeled example in a private collection at Arlington in Natchez, Mississippi.

References:

Busch, Jason T., Furniture Patronage in Antebellum Natchez: Natchez, Mississippi. The Magazine Antiques, May 2000: 804-813.

Berlin, Carswell, “A Shadow of a Magnitude”: The Furniture of Thomas Cook and Richard Parkin. Am. Furniture. Chipstone Foundation 2013: p. 176.

Mahogany (secondary woods: poplar, pine, and bird's-eye maple)
Height: 87½” Width: 81½” Depth: 23”
C394
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