Images(3)

Blanket chest

Date1800-1820

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Wythe County

MediumPainted tulip poplar and iron.

DimensionsOverall: 26 x 52 x 23in. (66 x 132.1 x 58.4cm)

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Richard France

Object number1994.2000.2

DescriptionChest with dovetailed case resting on dovetailed bracket feet and ogee base molding. The lid, which is finished with a molding on the front and sides is attached to the case with wrought strap hinges. Interior has a till mounted at left side. Painted decoration consists of two blue circles outlined with white bands on the lid; three astragal panels painted on the facade each of which contains five tulip flowers painted in red, white, red, and black emanating from a black vase (the pair of secondary flowers on the center panel are five-leafed flowers rather than tulips); the case is painted green and the dovetails are painted a contrasting color.
Label TextThe fertile, abundant, and comparatively inexpensive land in Wythe County, Virginia, lured many Germans from Pennsylvania beginning in the years preceding the Revolutionary War. This influx of Pennsylvania farmers and craftsmen and their families made Wythe County one of Virginia's largest German-speaking settlements.

Over thirty painted chests from Wythe County have been located to date, making it a very important area for the study of German-American chests. This chest has survived in remarkable original condition. Its painted decoration consisting of vases of tulips within astragal reserves was probably inspired by the decoration on chests painted by members of the Seltzer and Rank families of Dauphin (now Lebanon) County, Pennsylvania. No evidence locating any of the Selzer or Rank decorators in Virginia has been found to date: It is likely that a Virginian who was familiar with their work in Pennsylvania or in the homes of Virginians who had moved from Pennsylvania began to imitate Selzer and Rank designs after 1800.
ProvenanceJoe Kindig, York, PA (1938); Dr. Richard France, Baltimore, MD.

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