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The collection at NRF’s Whitehorne House Museum comprises furniture and related decorative arts made or used in Newport and elsewhere in Rhode Island in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Included are pieces by the renowned Townsend and Goddard families, other well known artisans, such as Benjamin Baker and Samuel Vernon, and many unnamed, equally skilled craftsmen. Newport cabinetmakers made some of the most highly regarded furniture in the British colonies of North America, with richly grained mahogany, distinctly formed ball-and-claw feet, and characteristically “Newport” block-and-shell carving, all of which can be seen in the sampling shown below.

The Collection

Porringer by John Otis

George Washington mantel clock

Side chair by John Townsend

Pier table by John Goddard

Portrait of Timothy Orne by Joseph Badger

Tankard by Samuel Vernon

Portrait of Rebecca Taylor Orne by Joseph Badger

Dining table by John Townsend

Painted and embroidered mourning picture on silk

19th-century watercolor showing John Goddard’s house and workshop

Benjamin Baker Highboy

Caleb Wheaton tall case clock

Carver Chair with braided cornhusk seat

Tea table

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