Sunday, July 15, 2012

"The Company of Master Craftsmen" Console and Mirror

The Company of Master Craftsmen was founded in 1925 as a subsidiary of W. & J. Sloane.  W. & J. Sloane, based in New York City, was one of the oldest and most established furniture makers and retailers in the U.S.  It had a history of furnishing many of the finest homes in the country including the Breakers and the White House.

William Sloane Coffin Sr., who was President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and an executive with the Sloane Company, founded the Company of Master Craftsmen to make colonial style furniture.  The company worked closely with the Metropolitan Museum's American wing, reproducing rare pieces from the collection to decorate the homes and offices of many of New York's and the country's elite.  The Company's production was quite limited during its' thirty years in business making their pieces quite rare and very collectible.  Today, a number of museums including the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the M.F.A. in Boston have Company of Master Craftsmen pieces in their permanent collections as examples of fine "revival" furniture.  






Exceptional console and mirror by The Company of Master Craftsmen.  The two tiered console has an ebonized top and columns, and a mahogany base.  The back is mirrored and flanked by mahogany pilasters.  Both the columns and pilasters have bronze capitals.  A pair of bronze stars decorate the front of the console.  The mirror has ebonized, gilt and bronze decoration and a hand-painted scene with two griffins flanking an urn.  Console 36" l., 16" w., 34" h.  Mirror 38" l., 24" w.  American, c. 1940's  SOLD