FEDERAL BEDSTEAD

Salem, Massachusetts   Circa 1810

Painting Possibly by John Ritto Penniman (1782-1841)

Primary Wood: Mahogany
Secondary Woods Birch, White Pine

Height: 91 inches
Width: 68 inches
Depth: 82 inches

Reference: For a similar tester, please see Robert D. Mussey Jr.'s The Furniture Masterworks of John & Thomas Seymour, page 434, catalogue entry 150. Musical motifs were often used in decorative painting during the Federal era. See selections from the drawing book of Christian M. Nestell pictured in Sumpter Priddy's American Fancy: Exuberance in the Arts 1790-1840, page 49, figures 79-80.