Since the development rights were much more valuable than the park or museum idea, the last Hopping owner certainly found his Town check less inflated than any of the shopping "maul" deals had promised. His selling (forced) to the Town, lost Mr. Hopping a tidy sum.
The house was full of old stuff; items from the inn as well as odd lots of inherited households that kept filling the vacant guest rooms and attic. Certainly such an abandoned looking house had called out to Morgan MacWhinnie, the dominant Dominy sleuth and well-known Southampton antiques dealer.
Morgan had been eying the house since he first came to the Hamptons. Of course he had knocked on the door and peeked into the rooms that flanked the grand hallway. Of course he visited the silent guest rooms and dusty attic. He could look anywhere, but nothing was for sale.
About every five years, MacWhinne knocked on the back door and reminded the owners of his interest in a few of the pieces of old furniture. The visit was always cordial, but the answer was always “no” to any suggestion that these few pieces could be for sale. Morgan had spied two Dominy tall chest bases; both with a Pennsylvania inspired modified trifid foot. He also noted a fine Dominy side chair with a mannerist splat and several candle stands, one with a dished top.
But what really fascinated MacWhinne was a chest-on-chest that was impossible to get near. Piles of old furniture and stuff were stacked and thrown in its path. The base had a simple straight bracket foot, typical of a number of documented Dominy pieces. Was this a lost Dominy masterpiece? There are no recorded Dominy chests-on-chests. An exciting notion, but you had to get to the piece to discover its secret.
In Hot Pursuit
Once the sale of the house was consummated, the local gossip began. What was going to happen to the contents? Would the Town buy all the antiques to keep with the house? Would the historical society get first chance at the family papers?
Within several months two large moving vans showed-up at the old Hampton House. Three elderly residents reported that the license plates were from New Jersey and there was huge dumpster moved behind the house. Where was the stuff going?
Apparently as far from the East End as these old mementos could get in a day. Soon graphically handsome ads began to appear in the two weekly Hampton’s newspapers.
The auction sale was in New Jersey and it would include another estate. Locals were aghast that they weren’t going to be able to bid on the treasures. “What does New Jersey know about our local history?” was overheard at the Golden Pear.
When MacWhinne heard about the trip the Hopping collection was taking, he called the auction gallery to check if a chest-on-chest was being sold. The answer was “yes” and on the road Morgan went.
He finally got his chance to inspect the elusive chest and found that it was all original and in an extraordinary early finish.
Made of dark wild cherry, the old finish had taken on a dull satin patina that accented the vivid grain on several of the top drawers. Dark and deep with whirls of darker linear lines, the surface was beautiful. The original brass handles retain hints of their fire gilding and the construction was careful and almost over-engineered. The cornice was attached from the top with tiny chiseled channels that each hold hand-made screws. There was so little wear on the molded edge drawer fronts that their sharp edges seems shocking. Like it had just been made! Only two drawers showed any signs of much use.
How long had this chest sat unused at the Hopping house? Who did the Dominy family make it for? Their account books never record a “chest-on-chest.” The term “chest” seems to have covered any of the forms, only the cost can allude to size or style.
The Authentication
After careful examination, this chest seems to be closest to a desk made by Nathaniel Dominy V for John Lyon Gardiner, the seventh proprietor of Gardiner’s Island --- an island of over 1000 acres that lies between the North and South Forks at the end of Long Island.
That desk is inscribed “Nathaniel Domine Junr. Fecit Jany. -1802- / For John Lyon Gardiner Esqr. –Price 27$-50 cts.” The brasses match, the drawer moldings match and the bracket feet match a template now in the collections of the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum. That museum holds an amazing collection of Dominy tools, templates, clock works and furniture made in the old Dominy Shop whose site is on East Hampton’s North Main Street.
A very interesting feature is an applied bead in the corner of both front bracket feet. This feature is found both on the chest-on-chest as well as the John Lyon Gardiner desk. Morgan MacWhinne decided he must have the chest and bought it at the auction along with all the other Dominy furniture. He brought them all back “home”. The Chest-on-chest is now part of a private collection focusing on East End joinery. The collector has lent his most recent acquisition to the Society for this special exhibition.
Who are these DOMINYS?
The Dominy family arrived in East Hampton in 1669.
Their old home, built in 1715 was enlarged and a workshop was added before 1760. There was a clock shop added later toward the 18th century.
Three Dominy men were artisans: Nathaniel Dominy IV (1737-1812), Nathaniel Dominy V (1770-1852), and Felix Dominy (1800-1868).
Their chairs, stands, windmills, chests, desks, tall clock works and cases all exhibit an honest sense of simple and conservative design.
Charles F. Hummel’s “
With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton, New York” is the bible for Dominy research.
Dean F. Faily’s “
Long Island is My Nation: The decorative Arts & Craftsmen 1640-1830” gives the researcher the best overview of Long Island furniture and Decorative Arts.
The DOMINY EXHIBITION
This new exhibition:
East Hampton Style: Dominy & Hedges - Master 19th Century Craftsmen
will open
June 17th,
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
at the Society’s Historic Clinton Academy
151 Main Street
East Hampton Village
This exhibit will offer over two dozen pieces of Dominy furniture, a rare signed desk made by a local Mulford family joiner, silver flatware created by two generations of the Hedges family, as well as other locally made decorative arts. The show will offer the furniture enthusiast a rare opportunity to study Long Island’s often ignored regional craft traditions.
With the current showing of the Nathaniel Dominy V chest-on-chest (a special loan), the Society is also showing a recent acquisition, a variant designed Dominy-type side chair with a rare mannerist splat. In wonderful old grubby-brown paint, this chair was recently found on Long Island’s North Fork.
It was purchased with monies raised to honor the Society’s late past president, Robert Kinnaman. The Kinnaman Fund was established by a wide-ranging group of this great dealer’s friends. This chair is the first purchase using these funds.
Other Sites
If the visitor could spare the time, a visit to the Southampton Historical Museum’s Thomas Halsey House (1660) would add seven more Dominy pieces, a tall chest made by Caleb Cooper and several Long Island chairs.
A visit to the Bridge Hampton Historical Society would also enlighten the viewer with its Dominy tall clock, a few chairs and several blanket chests.
The Sag Harbor Whaling Museum exhibits an imposing Dominy tall chest. Further down the road lies East Hampton’s famous Home Sweet Home with many Dominy and other local 19th century antique objects.
Our Mulford Farm is just next door to Home Sweet Home and has its local artifacts including another Cooper tall chest and a wealth of regional furnishings. Even the East Hampton Library has a beautiful Dominy tall clock on display and a collection of Dominy documents.
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