Chest of drawers

Date1765-1790

MediumMahogany and white pine

DimensionsOH: 32 1/8"; OW: 35 5/8"; OD: 21"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1972-228

DescriptionAppearance: Serpentine front chest of drawers with four graduated drawers; bead molding around drawer openings; overhanging top with molded edge, serpentine front; molded base molding, short cabriole legs flanked by shaped brackets; ball and claw feet; large brass drawer pulls and matching escutcheons.

Construction: A single board top with integral molded edges joined to the sides with sliding half-dovetails. The front of the top conforms to the serpentine shape of the case and overhangs the case approximately 3/4" in front and 1" on the sides. The horizontal grained backboard is nailed into rabbets in the case sides and butt joined to the top and board bottom. The sides and single board bottom are joined with dovetails. There is no top rail. Horizontal serpentine shaped mahogany drawer blades with integral beads on upper and lower edges are backed with white pine and attached to the case sides with sliding dovetails. The sliding dovetails are hidden with face molding that is glued and nailed to the front edges of the sides. Vertical beads rabbeted into the inside faces of the case sides form miters with those of the drawer blades. Runners abutting the drawer blades are nailed inside the case and support the three upper drawers. The bottom drawer runs on the bottom board. A vertical drawer stop is glued in the back corners behind each drawer.

The base molding overlaps the sides and bottom board and is glued and nailed to the bottom and to a series of white pine boards (1 ¾" -2 ½" wide) glued and nailed to the front and side edges of the underside of the bottom board. The cabriole legs, ball and claw feet and knee brackets are glued and nailed to these boards as are the shaped glue blocks supporting the legs and knee brackets. The rear feet are different from the front in that they do not have a rear facing knee bracket and the feet are not carved on the back and inside face. The rear feet have a rectangular supporting glue block to add strength since they have no second knee bracket.

The drawers are dovetailed at the corners. Bottoms have grain running from front to back and are dadoed into the sides and serpentine drawer front. They are butt joined and nailed to the backs. Additional wood strips have been added to the underside of all drawer sides due to wear. Brass and locks appear to be original. The bottom finial on the top drawer escutcheon was cut off to fit the shallow drawer.
Label TextChests and desks with shaped fronts like this diminutive serpentine chest of drawers were quite popular in New England during the second half of the 18th century. Large brass drawer hardware was also commonly found on these pieces. The use of these large scale brasses must have been a conscious choice by the makers and consumers since smaller scale pulls and escutcheons were available from British manufacturers. While this chest has the standard Massachusetts serpentine shaped front, moldings, and ball and claw feet, the proportions and the magnificent mahogany boards chosen for the piece make it an exceedingly pleasing and beautiful object.