Description
In 1976 my great aunt, sold family heirlooms; a japanned high chest and dressing table to Zeke Liverant, an antique dealer from Colchester, CT, who sold them to Albert Sack for the Kaufman's, renown collectors and philanthropists.
The high chest had been a treasured family heirloom for more than 250 years, passed down over the generations from our New England ancestors.
The high chest by John Scottow, who had been a neighbor of the Abbott and Cogswell families of Boston. The dresser was by Randle Davis shop also in Boston. Financial necessity prompted the sale to a private collector. Up until then family tradition was to donate papers or items with historical significance to public museums such as the Connecticut Historical Society and Wadsworth Athenaeum.
Today we are grateful knowing our lost and now found heirlooms have a permanent home, accessible to the public today and in the future. The high chest at VMFA and dressing table at National Museum of Art in DC
Media:
https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/a-tribute-to-albert-sack/
https://www.vmfa.museum/piction/6027262-12962242/
The comments about these heirlooms by Caroline Welling Van Deusen. Nov 10, 2020