Exhibit features historic furniture and its influence today

From Stafff Reports

May 02, 2008 10:36 am

— Edgecombe County Cultural Arts Council presents “Past and Present: Celebrating Two Centuries of North Carolina Decorative Arts,” an exhibition that concentrates on historic North Carolina Furniture and its influences on the contemporary form.
The exhibit follows an exhibition in the Barton College Art Gallery in Wilson earlier this year.
The Blount-Bridgers House will host the exhibition in the Hobson Pittman Memorial Gallery through May 25, with a public reception on Thursday. The 1808 Blount-Bridgers House, a national historic landmark, is home to a permanent collection that celebrates the 200 year-old material culture of Edgecombe County and the creative achievements of Tarboro-born artist Hobson Pittman (1899-1972).
In addition to the oil paintings, pastels, drawings, prints and watercolors by Pittman, the Blount-Bridgers House exhibits locally made antique furniture and nineteenth century paintings of prominent Edgecombe County citizens.
Participating craftsmen in the furniture exhibition include Vivian Beer, Brian Bortz, Michael Brown, Stan Corbett, Matt Gibson, Robb Helmkamp, Susan Link, Timothy Maddox, Mike Shelley, Brent Skidmore, Sylvie Rosenthal, Hart T. Wiggins, Julius Whitley and Brian Wurst.
The distinguished collection of antiques on loan for the exhibition includes a walnut brandy case or cellaret, found primarily in northeastern North Carolina or southside Virginia. This example is on a beaded leg frame, circa 1780. The yellow pine bottom has lost the bottle dividers. The hardware is replaced. The exposed dovetail construction square case and straight beaded legs are late 18th century cabinet making details. The case was given to Blount-Bridgers House by the Merkle Pulley family in 1969.
Also from the Blount-Bridgers House is a small Federal Period walnut table owned by Ethel Pike Bass, the wife of Dr. Spencer B. Bass Sr. Mrs. Bass was a passionate collector of southern antiques, the majority of which she discovered locally in the 1920s and 1930s. This table, circa 1790, exhibits features of the light and delicate furniture forms popular in the new republic after the American Revolution. All of walnut construction, this original has a one board top of figured walnut secured with wrought nails. The top has a shallow chamfer on the underside to lessen the visual impact of this solid table. The skirts are of thick 1 1/8th inch planks, which fives a strong sense of presence to a table of small dimensions. Each leg has slight camfer to the inside, which follows the style of George Hepplewhite, an English cabinetmaker. This table is devoid of inlays or painted decoration, which is observed in other tables of this period. The presence of “the neat and plain” task lingered in the early South. The table is faithfully copied in a limited number on the occasion of the 200 anniversary of The Grove (the Blount-Bridgers House) by Julius Whitley of Stantonsburg. It is a fitting tribute to the quality cabinet making and taste in Tarboro and Edgecombe County.
Additional pieces on view during the exhibition include:
• A painted blanket chest from Bertie County, circa 1720, features prussian blue paint on yellow pine, the “6 board chest” is distinctive of the original Chowan River basin form. It has molding on its top and a corbelled foot.
• A mule ear chair from Edgecombe County is circa 1840, with black paint over a red base. The chair has its original woven corn shucked seating.
• A Windsor arm chair from Halifax County is of mahogany wood with yellow pine arms and seat supports, circa 1820. The oak splat, numbered VI, indicates the chairs were available in sets of 6/8/10/12. The American versions of the Rococo pattern were very popular.
• Two Nash County Murray Town chairs, with maple turned uprights and hickory members, have their original split oak seating. The Murray Town chair was prolifically produced from 1790-1950s.
• A table of non-academic form emulates the latest taste in “styles” from Nash County, circa 1810. The table is of yellow pine wood with hand wrought nails and a brown wash paint.
• A swing leg table of black walnut, Matthew Whitaker’s of Shell Castle, circa 1825, features drawers with good figured walnut, drawer sides of yellow pine and a drawer bottom of poplar. The table has its original surface.
• A lamp-black and oil painted Warren County arm chair, circa 1790 with its original split oak seating, denotes a finial distinctive to that area’s craftsmen. It is pinned with wooden dowels.
• A Warren County stretcher desk of yellow pine, circa 1780, features a decorative plantation gallery on top with turned oak spindles and oak legs. (Clack) Robinson is inscribed on inside lid.
The Hobson Pittman Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and from 2 until 4 p.m. on weekends.

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