Green-painted Carved Federal Mantelpiece

Green-painted Carved Federal Mantelpiece, probably from the Terhune-Hitchings Mansion, Kings County, Long Island, c. 1812, the serpentine cornice with reeded details above a stepped molding and reeded frieze, with three bowed panels below, the center panel carved with a large patera and smaller bowed panels carved with circular fans, all separated by columns, and flanked by four-column posts with turned urns "trapped" within, on a carved architrave with reeding and paired fans, supported by reeded and turned freestanding columns with ball-carved and molded bases, ht. 65 3/4, wd. 92 1/2 in. Note: Directly related to a mantelpiece in the collection at the Brooklyn Museum given by the Hitchings family, about which a great deal is known. Mr. Benjamin Hitchings, a resident of Gravesend, Kings County, New York, was born and raised in a house built in 1812 by Judge Abraham Terhune, a member of one of the wealthiest families on Long Island. The Brooklyn Museum's mantelpiece was removed from the parlor of the Terhune-Hitchings home. According to a note provided by the museum to the present consignor, in the early 19th century Judge Terhune "resolved that he would be the possessor of one of the handsomest houses in Kings County. He employed a famous Dutch builder of those days..." The account goes on to explain the materials used (oak for beams, cedar for roof and siding), as well as the dimensions of the house and proportions of rooms, and then admits that "the mantelpieces are Read more…