Artist: unknown Object: Chest with Drawers Date of completion: ca. 1670-1700 Materials: Oak, pine, maple, cedar Dimensions: 34 x 52 x 20 inches Collection: Museum Purchase, Atholl McBean Foundation Accession number: 1984.10 Introduction This chest with drawers, made in the Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1670-1700, is an example of a common piece of furniture used in New England during colonial times. According to evidence from wills and household inventories, locking chests were used for storing bulky items, particularly textiles. Discussion The design of the chest reflects furniture fashions from England. Household objects from the earliest American settlement demonstrate that the Massachusetts colonists, whatever their disagreement with the ruling establishment in England may have been, brought a decidedly European culture to America. The weight and bulk of this chest is also indicative of the colonists determination to establish stable and enduring homesteads in America. Textiles, which may have been stored in this chest, were considered extremely valuable pieces of property. An inventory of the possessions of Michael Metcalfe, a farmer from Dedham, Massachusetts lists with his furniture the textiles he owned. "a joined Chest with 6 pr [pair] sheets, 12 napkins, 3 pr of pillowbeers [the case that holds the feathers of a pillow], 2Table Cloths and a Towell." Looking Closely It is assumed that the top of the chest was lost at some point and was replaced; this is why the top has a slightly different appearance than the body of the chest. Style The style and design of this chest are very similar to furniture fashions from non-urban areas in England during this time period. The round uprights were turned on a lathe and cut in half, but all other decoration is handcarved. The framework of the chest is grooved to hold the wooden panels that form the sides and bottom of the chest, and every place where a vertical and a horizontal part of the framework meet, is fastened with a mortise (rectangular cavity or groove) and tenon joint (projecting piece of wood). The chests were thus called "joined" chests, and the men who made them "joiners," who practiced the craft of "joinery." The peg visible near most of the joints is the pin that holds the mortise and tenon together. Artist We do not know the name of the craftsman who made this chest because records of furniture makers were not kept. Since the decoration on this chest and the technique used to assemble it are similar to that of other chests known to be made near Medfield, Massachusetts, historians can speculate that the same craftsman worked in both locations. Links to American History Curriculum
SLIDE 3
CHEST WITH DRAWERS
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