Design for a Tablet for a Chimney Piece: Plate 5 of a A New Book of Ornaments, 1762
Published by Thomas Johnson (British, ca. 1714–ca. 1778)
Crayon manner and stipple engraving; 8 x 13 1/16 in. (20.3 x 33.2 cm)
Gift of Harvey Smith, 1985 (1985.1099)
Technical Glossary
Published by Thomas Johnson (British, ca. 1714–ca. 1778)
Crayon manner and stipple engraving; 8 x 13 1/16 in. (20.3 x 33.2 cm)
Gift of Harvey Smith, 1985 (1985.1099)
Thomas Johnson was an important master carver of Rococo ornament in London during the 1750s and 1760s. His small cahier, or suite, of engraved designs of 1762 illustrated six ornamental tablets for use in the center of mantelpieces above fireplaces. A carver in Philadelphia, possibly Johnson's erstwhile apprentice Hercules Courtenay, commandeered plate 5 for a different use—as decoration on the large lower drawer of a Philadelphia high chest!
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