High chest of drawers

Date1735-1750

Attributed to Robert Davis

MediumMaple, white pine, paint, gesso, and gilding

DimensionsOH: 84 1/2": OW:43 7/8": OD:23 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1959-100

DescriptionApperance:
High chest of drawers in two parts; upper case capped with bonnet top open in center with heavy scrolled moldings applied to front. Top is covered over with thin sheets of pine and paper. Three urn and corkscrew finials (replacements); applied fluted (5 flutes) pilasters frame upper case which has a horizontal row of 3 drawers at top, the central drawer taller with a gesso and gilt shell applied to concave portion of base; shell is not carved but built up with gesso; full dust board between these small drawers and the first long one; 4 long drawers graduated in size, with half dust boards between each and a full dust board beneath bottom drawer of upper section; drawer dividers are lap-jointed into sides in upper section; locks are missing from the second and fourth long drawers; lower case with molded top has 2 rows of horizontal drawers-- an upper row of 2 shallow ones and a lower of 3 deep drawers; drawer dividers are dovetailed into sides in this section; central drawer has gesso and gilt shell (again, not carved) applied to concave portion of base. Skirt simply shaped with 3 flat headed arches and 2 drops which are replacements. Cabriole legs terminate in pad feet; brasses are original. Japanning is in gold and red on a black ground; leaves, vines and flowers are painted on legs and cornice; gessoed Chinoiserie designs on prominent areas include man and woman in front of a pagoda, men in boats, rickshaws, birds, roosters, and camels, and an unusual small, one-masted boat.

Construction:
On the upper case, the case sides are dovetailed to the bottom. Extension boards are glued below the sides to elevate the sides above the top of the molding on the lower case. The front rail is glued to the front edge of the bottom and extends below it, matching the extended sides. A series of rectangular glue blocks on the underside of the bottom reinforce the joining of the extension boards to the bottom of the sides and of the front rail to the bottom of the upper case. Two horizontal backboards are lap joined with a third butt joined and extending above to form the pediment backboard. All three are lap joined and nailed into rabbets in the sides.

The scroll-board is rabbeted to fit into notches in the upper corner of the case sides and glued and nailed to the vertical dividers of the top tier of drawers that are in turn mitered into the scroll-board and drawer blade. The vertical sides of the box behind the scroll-board are nailed flush to the edge of the cutout in the backboard, and to vertical battens that are in turn nailed to the inside of the backboard and to the back of the scroll-board. The bottom of the box is nailed to the edge of the cutout in the backboard and to a horizontal batten nailed to the back of the scroll-board. The pediment roof is nailed to the top edges of the scroll-board, backboard, case sides and box.

The single piece, mitered top cove molding is nailed to the scroll-board and case sides. The short molding returns are nailed to and supported by blocks nailed to the back of the pediment and shaped to match its curvature. The center plinth of the scroll-board is glued to a shaped block that is in turn glued to a short block that is glued to the box behind the scroll board. The plinths surmounting the fluted pilasters are glued to the top molding. The pilasters and capitals are glued and nailed to the stiles, sides and scroll-board.
The drawer blade below the top tier of drawers is dovetailed to the sides and glued to a full depth dustboard that is set in dados in the sides. Drawer guides immediately behind the vertical dividers are nailed, and outside drawer guides are glued to the drawer blade and dustboard. The other drawer blades are also dovetailed to the sides and are glued to 7” deep dustboards set in dados in the sides. All drawer blades have been notched to fit around the stiles and are probably nailed to the stiles although the nails would be hidden by pilasters Drawer supports are butt joined and toe-nailed behind the blades, and nailed to the sides. Drawer guides are glued to the upper side of the drawer blades and supports. Drawer guides for the bottom board are glued to the bottom board.

On the lower case, the two board sides and single board back are tenoned and pined into the stiles. The front rail is dovetailed into the top of the stiles; the side rails are possibly glued or nailed to the case sides. The case top is comprised of three butt joined front to back grained boards and is nailed into rabbets in the front and side rails and to the top edge of the back boards upon which it rests.

The upper drawer blade is mitered and slid into the stiles. The upper drawer vertical divider is tenoned and nailed into the front rail and drawer blade, and lower vertical dividers similarly joined to the upper and lower drawer blades. The lower drawer blade and integral front skirt is tenoned and pinned to the stiles. The turned drops are glued to the skirt. The side shaped brackets are glued to the underside of the sides and tenoned and pinned to the stiles. The carved cabriole legs and pad feet are integral with the stiles. The knee blocks are glued to the legs and skirt. All drawer supports are miter-lap joined to the drawer blades and tenoned into the backboards. Drawer guides are nailed to the upper surface of the drawer supports.

The lower case has a two piece top molding, the lower section of which is nailed to the sides and front rail, and to it is nailed the upper section of molding, which helps keep the upper case in place.

Drawers are of dovetail construction. Drawer bottoms of the eight smaller drawers are single board while the four larger drawers have two boards. Bottoms are front to back grained. The bottoms are nailed into rabbets in the front and sides and nailed into the lower edge of the back. Modern thin runners are nailed to the bottoms on either side. Drawer front edges have a quarter round forming an overlapping edge. The recessed shells carved in the upper and lower case drawers are from a single thick board chamfered on the back.
Label TextThe unusual decoration on this high chest was achieved by first building up islands of gesso on the surface (to create the raised areas), and then painting, gilding, and varnishing the entire object. The technique, known in the eighteenth century as "japanning," was intended to simulate the lacquered wooden wares then being imported to the West from Japan and other Asian countries. Naïve when compared to the Asian originals, and even the European copies, American japanning was nonetheless colorful and exotic by colonial standards. Though a few japanners were at work in New York City, the American center for this craft was Boston, where at least one dozen japanners plied their trade in the eighteenth century. In addition to high chests, they also ornamented tall clocks, looking glasses, and dressing tables.

The decoration on this chest, like that on all antiques, has been subjected to two centuries of fading and wear. In its original state, the surface would have been even more vividly colored than it is now.
InscribedAn inscribed mark appears on back of almost every drawer; word "back" written on back of 4 drawers; numbered on back; "Command" written across back of right drawer in lower case; figures and initials on several drawers, "JP" inside one of small lower drawers.
ProvenanceThe chest was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in 1933. It was then owned by Miss Margaret Danforth of Boston, from whom it was acquired by Mr. Walton.

Exhibition(s)