Chest of drawers

Date1760-1770

Attributed to Mardun Vaughan Eventon

OriginAmerica, Virginia, King William County

MediumBlack walnut; yellow pine, oak, tulip poplar, white-pine, and cherry.

DimensionsOH: 40 3/4"; OW: 36 1/4"; OD: 19 3/4".

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1957-157

DescriptionAppearance:
Chest of drawers. Flat, rectangular top with molded edge on three sides; top row of two drawers above three, full length graduated drawers; all four drawers molded around outside edge; molded base on four, straight bracket feet.

Construction:
Top attached to case sides with sliding dovetails; lower top molding is nailed under top to sides and top rail; bottom is dovetailed to sides; top rail and possibly bottom rail are tenoned to sides; drawer blades are joined to sides with exposed sliding dovetails; drawer supports (replaced) nailed to case sides behind drawer blades; single drawer guide nailed inside top of proper left case side; bottom drawer supports (replaced) nailed to case bottom; vertical drawer divider in sliding dovetail in top of upper drawer blade; construction of joint with top rail not visible; medial drawer support and guide (all replaced) toe nailed into back of upper drawer blade behind vertical divider and tenoned into case backboard; integral foot brackets and base molding mitered at front corners and nailed to sides, front edge of bottom board and bottom rail; single vertical blocks glued behind front feet; rear feet rear brackets are very thick and are nailed to the underside of the case bottom and joined (glued?) to the inside of the side foot brackets; there is no evidence of glue blocks with the rear feet; the three case backboards are butt joined and chamfered around the top and sides and slid into dados in the top and sides and nailed to the edge of the case bottom board; the backboards extend unevenly past the bottom board towards the floor; drawers have standard dovetail construction; front to back oriented multi-board drawer bottoms are chamfered around front and sides and slid into dados in front and sides and nailed to the underside of the drawer backs.

Woods: Primary: Walnut; Secondary: Drawer bottoms, some of drawer sides, back and bottom of chest-southern yellow pine; some of drawer sides and backs and one drawer runner-oak; several drawer runners-tulip poplar; three drawer runners-white-pine.