Chest of Drawers

Date1790-1800

Attributed to Amos Alexander

OriginAmerica, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County

MediumBlack walnut, yellow pine, and maple (probably)

DimensionsOH: 42 1/8”; OW: 37 5/8”; OD: 16 ¾”

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Sara and Fred Hoyt Furniture Fund and Robert F. Grossman

Object number2013-149

DescriptionAppearance: Chest of drawers, rectangular top with applied molded edge over two half-width drawers, over three graduated drawers; fluted quarter columns at front corners; applied base molding over ogee bracket feet; all drawers have bail and rosette drawer pulls and wide inlaid lightwood string with inset corners around perimeter of drawer fronts; oval brass escutcheons on three large drawers.

Construction: The single board walnut top is dovetailed to the single board walnut sides and rabbeted to extend over the sides and front of the case. The top molding is nailed into this rabbet. The single board yellow pine bottom is half-dovetailed to the sides and a ½” walnut strip is glued to the exposed front edge. The stiles, with integral fluted columns, base and capitals, are lap joined to the leading edge of the sides. The drawer blades are tenoned into the stiles and sides, and the drawer divider is tenoned into the top and top rail.

At the back of the case, boards are tenoned to the sides directly opposite the drawer blades. Corresponding dados are cut in both into which drawer supports, which have been rabbeted to fit into the dados, are glued. The dados are cut deeper in areas where they are to be utilized and shallow in other areas. The drawer supports are rabbited to also serve as drawer guides. A center drawer support for the two smaller drawers is wider than the others and rabbeted on both sides.

The back consists of seven vertical yellow pine boards nailed into rabbets in the top and sides and flush nailed to the edge of the bottom. The outside two boards on each side extend to the floor. They are butt joined on the inner face to rear facing bracket feet that are in turn nailed to the case bottom and joined with sliding half-dovetails to the side facing rear ogee bracket feet.

The front facing and side facing elements of the front ogee bracket feet are joined with half-dovetails. The dovetails start 1” below the top of the foot at the widest point of the foot. Front and back bracket feet are nailed to miter joined boards 3” wide that are in turn nailed to the underside of the bottom on the sides and front. The base molding is integral to these boards and extends 5/8’ beyond the sides and front.

The drawers are of typical dove tail construction. (A few wedged dovetails appear in the proper right small drawer.) The walnut drawer fronts are decorated with an inlaid band. The secondary wood is yellow pine. The bottoms are chamfered on the underside to fit into dados in the front and sides, and are nailed from the underside to the edge of the backs.
Label TextThis chest of drawers is one of a group of case pieces from the North Carolina Piedmont that has been attributed to cabinetmaker Amos Alexander of Mecklenburg County. Much of the area was settled by Scotch-Irish immigrants and this chest represents the work of one such cabinetmaker. A few distinguishing features are found on this and other examples of Alexander’s work. One is the unusually shallow depth of the chest. Another is the wide band of inlaid light wood outlining the drawers. Alexander’s contemporaries chose a thinner string of inlaid wood for this purpose.

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