Images(6)

Spice Box

Date1791

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Loudoun County

MediumBlack walnut, yellow pine, ash, brass, and iron

DimensionsOH: 20 3/4"; OW: 16 1/8"; OD: 11 3/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2006-21,1

DescriptionDescription: the vertical case piece with a thin molded top above an unusually large reverse stepped cornice molding. The hinged door below has a thumb-molded edge and lightwood inlaid decoration consisting of four small "dots" positioned towards each corner and, at the center of the door, a vertical rectangle enclosing a smaller horizontal rectangle inside which are the initials "M W"; the date "1791" is inlaid below the smaller rectangle. The case rests on a dovetailed base with simple shaped side moldings which continue across the front with the addition of a shaped center drop (slightly off center). The door opens to reveal four graduated rows of drawers each with a large brass knob. The drawer arrangement consists of two rows of three short drawers over one row of two long drawers over one longer drawer. The iron hinges attaching the door to the proper left side of the case appear to be original (screws are not original). The original lock remains in one of the drawers along with a brief history of the spice chest. The interior drawers have nailed bottoms and rectangular scrap wood drawer stops glued to the outside of the backs. The inside of the drawer facings reveal crudely deep saw kerfs from the dovetailing. A chamfered yellow pine backboard slides down to reveal a row of two secret drawers behind the heavy cornice molding in which were found the estate papers of John Warford (1750-1812) of Loudoun County, Virginia.
Label TextThis spice chest descended in the Warford family of Loudoun Co., VA and Belmont Co., OH. Spice chests or spice boxes appeared with relative frequency in 18th century Virginia homes, yet Colonial Williamsburg has only two other Virginia spice boxes in the collection (#1968-306 and 2018-115). While #1968-306 also descended in a Loudoun Co. family, its appearance is quite different from the Warford spice chest, representing a variation on the form. The Warford spice chest is also somewhat more crudely constructed suggesting the maker may have been a carpenter rather than a cabinetmaker.

This spice chest, which is inlaid on the door with the initials "M.W." and the date 1791 framed by an inlaid rectangle with four inlaid dots at each corner of the door, represents the influence of Chester County, PA furniture designs in Loudoun Co., VA. A number of 18th-century spice chests from Chester County survive, many inlaid with line-and-berry designs that include the initials of their Quaker owners and the date of manufacture. A number of Quaker families migrated from Pennsylvania to Loudoun Co., VA during the middle of the 18th century, strengthening ties between the two regions.

This spice chest follows Chester Co. examples in the arrangement of the interior drawers, the use of a central drop between the front bracket feet, and the inclusion of secret drawers behind the heavy cornice molding (accessed from the back of the chest) as well as in the type of inlay used on the door. While not precisely line-and-berry inlay, this Loudoun Co. inlay uses a similar arrangement of the initials and date within a reserve, and includes four dots, consistent with the berries in line-and-berry inlay. Most line-and-berry spice boxes and furniture from Chester Co. date from the 1730s and 1740s, but a few do date from the late 18th century.

This spice chest contained the estate papers of John Warford (1750-1812) in its two secret drawers and descended in the Warford family until purchased by Colonial Williamsburg. The chest was probably originally made for his wife, Mary Warford (d.1832, Belmont, OH). However, it may have been made for John's mother or step-mother, both also named Mary Warford. Initials on spice chests were usually either just a woman's or those of husband and wife. John's 1812 estate inventory includes "Drawers and spice box $18.00." The drawers probably refer to a separate chest of drawers, but the spice box most likely refers to this object.
MarkingsInlaid on door front "M W" and "1791"
ProvenanceOriginally owned by John (1750-1812) and Mary (d.1832) Warford of Loudoun Co., VA. Descended in their family. Papers relating to John Warford's estate remained in two secret drawers in the spice box. Included on John's estate inventory was an entry for "Drawers & spice box $18.00." A typewritten note indicated that the box was brought to Belmont Co., Ohio in 1798 by Elizah Warford, great grandmother of CM Palmer, Maple Rd. City. John Warford's widow Mary and some of her children moved to Belmont Co., Ohio during the late 18th or early 19th century.

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