Chest of drawers on frame

Date1795-1830

OriginAmerica, North Carolina, Rowan County

MediumBlack walnut and yellow pine

DimensionsOH: 46"; OW: 42"; OD: 20"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2001-803

DescriptionAppearance: A chest of drawers composed of two long drawers below two tiers of paired drawer facades fitted with neoclassic hardware, astragal stringing, and cockbeading around their perimeters, the top right-hand drawer facade concealing a deep "bonnet" drawer, the case constructed with two full dustboards below the upper tiers, and all supported by an independent frame of arched rails with a central, half-round drop, and short cabriole legs at each corner.

Construction: On the chest, the one piece walnut top and one piece pine bottom are dovetailed to the single board sides. A one piece upper molding with an ogee lower edge is pegged or nailed to the edge of the top, with wire nails added at a later date. The top rail is through-pegged to the top and the bottom rail is nailed with one nail to the bottom. Both rails are joined to the sides with probable sliding dovetails as are the drawer blades, with the exception of the drawer blade below the upper small drawer on the proper right side which on the interior end is tenoned into the drawer divider. The drawer divider is in turn tenoned into the top rail and through tenoned into the full width drawer blade below the small drawers. The back edge of the drawer divider is tongue and groove joined to the leading edge of a 1" board that that extends from the drawer divider to within ½" of the back and 2" of the top, and into which a wedge has been cut out of the lower back to allow the board to be nailed to the top of the dust board. Full 1" dustboards are butt joined to the two drawer blades of the upper tier; they are chamfered on the bottom edge of each side to fit in dados in the case sides and in the extended drawer divider.

The drawer supports for the uppermost of the two lower drawers are glued into dados in the sides, and nailed with one nail into the drawer blade. Drawer supports for the bottom drawer are glued to the edges of the bottom. The case sides and the extended drawer divider function as drawer guides. Walnut lath is glued and nailed to the leading edge of the sides flush with the drawer blades. Three vertical lap-joined boards form the back, which is nailed into rabbets in the top and sides and nailed to the back edge of the bottom.

Drawers are of standard dovetail construction, with bottoms chamfered to fit into dados in the front and sides and nailed from below to the edge of the back. Cockbeading is nailed to the perimeters of the drawer fronts.

On the frame, the front and side arched walnut rails and the pine back rail are tenoned and pegged into walnut corner posts. The cabriole legs with trifid feet are integral with the corner posts. Canted corner blocks (modern) are nailed to the rails in each corner. Ogee moldings are nailed to the top of the front and side rails.

ProvenanceRobert S. Brunk Auction Services, Ashville, NC, July 21-22, 2001, lot 718; Collected and consigned by Hugh Larew of Mocksville, NC.