Cellaret

Date1795-1805

OriginAmerica, North Carolina, Roanoke River Basin

MediumBlack walnut, yellow pine, and holly.

DimensionsOH: 33 3/4"; OW: 19 1/2"; OD:14 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1930-40

DescriptionAppearance: Rectangular, box-form top hinged at back and dove-tailed at all four corners. Top also of box form and dovetailed at corners. Case divided into twelve compartments of equal size. Lower section has open top surmounted on 3 sides by raised molding. Straight skirt with molded lower edge. Single drawer in front skirt. Four Marlborough legs chamfered on inside edge. Series of inlaid X's on drawer and face of front legs.

Construction: The lid is constructed of two boards, one nearly full depth and the other a three-eighths-inch-strip at the rear. They are flush-mounted with cut nails to the open-dovetailed lid frame. The lid is mounted on table hinges. The case sides are open-dovetailed together; the bottom boards are flush-nailed in place. As on the top, the bottom consists of two butt-joined boards. A twelve-bottle divider approximately three inches high sits inside the case directly on the bottom board. The lower frame is traditionally mortised and tenoned and is secured with pins. A molding is flush-nailed to the top of the frame and conceals the edges of the bottom board on the upper case. Rabbeted runners with mitered rear edges are toe-nailed into the front and rear legs. The runners support a drawer with sides nailed into rabbets on the drawer front and flush-joined at the rear. The drawer bottom is flush-nailed on all sides. A small rectangular drawer stop is glued to the lower left corner on the inside of the rear frame rail. The tops of the legs are chamfered on the interior edges.

Materials: Black walnut lid, case sides, case front, moldings, front rail, side rails, drawer blade, legs, and drawer front; yellow pine case back, bottom board, rear rail, pins, drawers supports, drawer sides, drawer back, and drawer bottom; holly stringing.
Label TextProduced by an unidentified artisan in northeastern North Carolina's Roanoke River basin, this bottle case is adorned with inlaid and cross-hatched stringing. Although its history is not known, a nearly identical example from the same shop descended through a Bertie County family. In general, crossed stringing like that adorning this object is an uncommon decorative technique and its design source remains unknown. Perhaps the cross hatching was inspired by the sawn fretwork used on furniture and architectural trim in coastal cities.

Like most Roanoke River basin furniture, this bottle case reflects the neat-and-plain British fashion preferred in much of the coastal South. However, the structural features on the case differ markedly from many coastal southern forms. The dovetailing on the upper case is left fully exposed on all sides, and the top boards on the lid are simply flush-nailed to the frame with no attempt to conceal the joinery. The boxlike drawer is also flush-nailed together, while the drawer runners are crudely toe-nailed to the legs and are set so low that they are visible from the sides. The interior surfaces of the case retain coarse tool marks, and the underside of the lid is badly scarred by an original pith loss associated with poor quality wood. The bottle case with the Bertie County history is identically constructed, and it is likely that both pieces were made by a carpenter rather that a cabinetmaker. In rural districts throughout America, carpenters and joiners often built everything from houses and barns to tea tables and workbenches.

InscribedNone
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceCWF acquired the bottle case from H. C. Valentine Antiques, Richmond, Va., in 1930.