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Pair of Federal Looking Glasses

Creator: SIMEON DEMING
Offered by: David A. Schorsch - Eileen M. Smiles Fine Americana

Description
SIMEON DEMING (1769-1855)
Pair of Federal Looking Glasses
Wethersfield, Connecticut or New York, circa 1790-1800
Mahogany veneer, white pine, mirror glass, iron wire, gesso, gold leaf.
Height 57 inches, width 26 inches.
Signed on backside in ink: “S. Deming.”

The maker of this rare pair of looking glasses, Simeon Deming, was born into a family of Connecticut cabinetmakers, a gifted craftsman from the town of Wethersfield, near Hartford, he moved to New York City in 1793 and worked in partnership with William Mills until 1798. As “Mills & Deming” they produced one of the great masterpieces of American furniture, the celebrated swag-inlaid sideboard made for Connecticut Governor Oliver Wolcott, now in the George and Linda Kaufman collection at the National Gallery. These looking glasses are additionally important as a matched pair and being of American origin, as the majority of eighteenth-century looking glasses were imported from England and retailed by American cabinetmakers. The style and workmanship of the original finials and carved rosettes are like others on looking glasses made in Connecticut and New York. The use of white pine as a secondary wood for the backboards and carved elements is also consistent with related American examples.

Inscription on backside notes ownership in “The Beach family, Litchfield, Connecticut, formerly in the Sheldon house on North Street.”

Provenance:
Israel Sack, Inc., New York, 1960s; Collection of Edward J. Lucas (1909-1975), New York; to his wife Mary F. Lucas (1910-1977); to her daughter Mary Virginia Lucas McLarney (born 1929), Baldwin, NY.

Exhibited:
“Signed, Labeled and Historic Masterpieces of Americana,” Israel Sack Inc., New York, January 18-February 3, 1996.

Published:
American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Vol. III
William Ketchum, Marked American Furniture (New York, 1995), p. 95-96
Herbert F. Schiffer, The Mirror Book, English, American & European (Exton, PA, 1983), pp. 223-224, no. 221.

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Period:	18th Century
Condition:	Good.
Styles / Movements:	Americana, Traditional, Federal
Incollect Reference #:	776446

Dimensions

W.	26 in;	H.	57 in;
W.	66.04 cm;	H.	144.78 cm;

Message from Seller:

David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles are nationally recognized dealers in American antiques and folk art, specializing in weathervanes, folk paintings, Shaker furniture, and more. With over forty years of experience, they offer expert services in private and corporate collections, authentication, and auction representation—contact them today at 203.263.3131 or via email at contact@schorsch-smiles.com.