An Important American Federal Inlaid, Carved Mahogany and Redbay Sofa, early 19th c., Charleston, the reeded and reticulated crest rail terminating in foliate moldings, tall arms with palmette-carved baluster supports, seat rail with rosette blocks, reeded legs, casters, height 37 in., width 83 in., depth 30 in. Note: Several of the finely carved embellishments on this sofa relate to those on furniture documented in Charleston. The applied roundels at the reeded stile intersections on the crestrail are similar to those on mahogany chairs descended in the Kinloch or Middleton families of Charleston. (1) The reeded collars on the legs have lobed ends, drill marks and rope twist moldings similar to those seen on bedposts recorded in MESDA Research Files from three different Charleston carvers (MRF 29,250; 13,804; 11,709) The sophistication of this sofa is further enhanced by a unity of motifs: the fine foliate inlay placed behind the arm support on the carved crestrail end. The documentation of Redbay (Persea borbonia) in American furniture is exceedingly rare perhaps due to its superficial resemblance to mahogany. Redbay grows along the Southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts and was used in Charleston furniture mostly as a secondary wood and more rarely as a primary wood. A c. 1740 Charleston redbay and cypress side table conserved by the Yale University Art Gallery (acc. 1930-2586) is a rare documented example of the use of redbay primary wood. (3) Contemporary redbay trees are threatened with extinction from an infestation of the Asian ambrosia beetle, discovered in coastal Georgia from 2002 Reference: (1) Rauschenberg and Bivens. The Furniture of Charleston 1680-1820, Vol II, Neoclassical Furniture, p. 773, fig. Nch-17a. (2) Ibid, pp. 792-793, fig. NBS 4-a, NBS 4c NBS 4d; p. 825, fig. NB 11c. (3) Ibid, Vol. I, pp. 256-257.