Late 18th century. Attributed to Nehemiah Adams. Mahogany oxbow drop front desk with four graduated dovetailed drawers and drop front on bracket style base with carved shell pendant. Interior with center cabinet with three drawers at front and two at rear. Center cabinet flanked by six drawers over eight pigeon holds. Interior drawer with hand written note reads “This desk was made for my mother at the time of her marriage by Nehemiah Adams June 20, 1796.” Desk has original hardware and brasses. Measures: 44.5″ high x 44.5″ wide x 25″ diameter. Excellent overall condition with molding losses at rear foot and front foot, which shows old repairs. History: This desk is one of only about a dozen or so examples of furniture attributed to Salem cabinetmaker Nehemiah Adams (1769-1840), and may well have been made at his shop at the corner of Newbury and Williams Street, which he occupied from 1796 until it was destroyed by a fire on April 3, 1798. It was likely commissioned by John Coles, Jr. (1745-1808) of Enniscorthy, Albemarle County, Virginia as a present upon the marriage of his son Walter Coles (1772-1854) to Elizabeth Fauntleroy Cocke (1779-1811), and was passed down through generations of the family to the present. John Coles I (1705-1747) arrived from Ireland between 1730-1747, purchasing 3000 acres in Albemarle County from the Eppes family, and naming the estate “Enniscorthy” after his hometown in County Wexford. At his death, the property passed to his son John Coles II, a 50 year business associate of Thomas Jefferson, whose home also served as a refuge for Jefferson and his family when Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton sent a detachment of dragoons to Monticello.
Salem Mahogany Oxbow Desk By Nehemiah Adams
