Firescreen

Thomas Affleck

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

With a history of descent in the family of General John Cadwalader (1742–1786), this finely carved rococo fire screen can be identified with the “4 Mahogany fire screens @ 2-10” for which the cabinetmaker Thomas Affleck billed Cadwalader in January 1771. Nicholas Bernard and Martin Jugiez were the carvers of those screens. The hairy paw feet of this example bear comparison with those on a side chair (1974.325) in the collection.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art