Corner Cupboard

Date1745-1755

OriginAmerica, Virginia, James River Basin

MediumYellow pine

DimensionsOH: 79 3/4: OW: 40"; OD: 18 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1930-123

DescriptionAppearance:
Corner cupboard, single unit with angled side stiles and half round back; upper section open, with break arch at top, applied molding on top and sides of opening, and three deeply shaped shelves; lower section closed with two-panel, non-lockable door and no shelves; cornice, waist molding, and base molding with integral bracket feet applied to front and angled side stiles. Front consists of top, waist, and bottom rails tenoned into front right and left stiles and nailed; front assembly flanked by angled and mitered side stiles; front unit and side stiles nailed to shelves, top board, and bottom board; 9 full-height, rough sawn back boards are set edge-to-edge and nailed to curved rear edges of shelves, top board, and bottom board; cornice, waist molding, and base rail with integral bracket feet face nailed to front assembly and side stiles; bracket feet backed with (mostly replaced) vertical blocks; composite block once supported rear of cupboard; face nailed molding applied to sides and top of open upper section; door with pinned through tenons.

Construction:
The cupboard is a single unit entirely made of yellow pine. The top, waist and bottom rails are tenoned and nailed into the stiles. The stiles are miter joined to the sides and both stiles and sides are nailed into the edges of the top, bottom and shelves. The inner edge of the stiles and bottom edge of the top rail have integral molding and an additional single piece mitered applied molding is nailed through the stiles and into the edges of the shelves to frame the open shelves. Nine full height backboards are butt joined and nailed to the curved edges of the top, bottom and shelves. The outside edges of the outside boards are mitered to meet the sides.
The single piece mitered top molding is nailed to the sides, stiles and top rail. The single piece half-round mitered waist molding is nailed to the sides, stiles and waist rail. Modern vertical blocks fitted under the bottom edges of the sides and stiles extend to the floor as weight bearing feet., and are nailed from the front to the bracket feet. As these blocks are modern it is possible that the sides and stiles originally extended to the floor as weight bearing feet. The three piece mitered bracket feet and molded skirt assembly with integral ogee molded top is nailed to the bottom rail, stiles and sides. A 1”x3”x18” board, added at a later date, is nailed to the back of the centermost backboard and extends to the floor as a back leg.

The rails of the raised panel door are through-tenoned to the stiles. The center stile is tenoned into the rails. The two raised panels are set in dados in the inside edges of the stiles and rails. The “H” hinges are replacements nailed with rose-head nails. The door is secured with a wooden turn latch screwed to the stile.