Chest of Drawers

Date1790-1810

MediumBirch, white pine, yellow pine, and tulip poplar

DimensionsOH: 34"; OW: 41 7/8"; OD: 20 1/4"

Credit LineGift of The Burlington Gwathmey Foundation.

Object number1988-442,A

DescriptionAppearance: chest of drawers with rectangular top with unmolded edges and slight overhang; four long ungraduated drawers; cock bead applied to drawer openings rather than drawers; straight bracket feet; originally had oval brasses with bails.

Construction: top screwed onto two boards which are secured to the sides with hidden dovetails; horizontal two board back nailed on; drawer fronts and sides dovetailed together; drawer bottoms slid into rabbit from rear, nailed across back; drawer runners nailed on; drawer blades dovetailed to sides; drawer stops nailed on; feet and base molding made out of one piece of wood for each side, nailed onto bottom board which is secured to sides with hidden dovetails.

Woods: Birch primary; white pine, yellow pine, poplar secondary
Inscribed"1," "2," "3," and "4" scratched on drawer dividers
Markings

ProvenanceOwned by the Gwathmey family in Burlington plantation, King William County, Virginia. The 1815 Personal Property Tax record for Joseph Gwathmey of Burlington lists two chests of drawers "with or without desks of wood other than mahogany." It is possible that this chest may be one of those listed, but there are no references to the form in either Joseph Gwathmey's inventory of 1824 or in the accounts of his estate sale in 1836.