CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — From an elderly couple’s home and previously unknown to the market, a Boston bombe slant-front desk sold for $240,000 including buyer’s premium at CRN Auctions on May 20. The buyer, a collector seated in the room, completed against a battery of phone bidders. The desk, which dates to circa 1765-70, descended in the Whitney family of Boston and Dedham. It had old or original surface and retained its original batwing brasses. The price was a surprise to the consignors, who previously sold another slant-front desk for $600 and had not expected much for this one. Watch for a full report in Antiques and The Arts Weekly.
