A MASTERPIECE CHIPPENDALE SLAB TABLE Carved by John Welch (1711-1789) Boston Circa 1755 Primary Wood: Mahogany, Secondary Woods: Soft Maple, Ash (by Microanalysis)
Height: 32 1/2 inches Width: 56 inches Depth: 27 inches Base dimensions: Width: 38 1/2 inches Depth: 21 inches
Provenance: A conceivable line of descent based on the most recent ownership of the table traces it back to Boston merchant Middlecott Cooke (1705-1771), who would have known Welch since Cooke was a Selectman and involved with the aftermath of the 1747 fire in the Old State House around the time Welch did architectural carving for the building. Cooke died childless and gave his Boston mansion to his nephew, Nathaniel Saltonstall. At this time, Cooke's probate inventory has not been located. However, Nathaniel Saltonstall's 1815 inventory has “1 marble slab Table" valued at $8. The table appears to have descended through the Saltonstall family until acquired by us. (Special thanks to Martha Willoughby for the genealogical research.) Reference: Although John Welch's carving is both well documented and published, this appears to be the only complete slab table by him that is known. For other furniture, architecture and frames carved by Welch please see Alan Miller, “Roman Gusto in New England: An Eighteenth-Century Boston Furniture Designer and His Shop,” in American Furniture, 1993 . Note that the unusual animal paw feet on this table relate directly to two clocks carved by Welch and published as figures 27-33 in the above reference.
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