Chest of Drawers

Object/Artifact

-

Saco Museum

Name/Title

Chest of Drawers

Entry/Object ID

1982.6.57

Description

Fout-drawer bow front mahogany bureau with fluted columns at the front corners that terminate in turned feet, and a scalloped skirt. Four drawers of equal size with brass oval drawer pulls and ivory escutcheons. Veneered in figured mahogany.

Made/Created

Date made

1815 - 1830

Dimensions

Height

39 in

Width

41 in

Depth

19-1/2 in

Interpretative Labels

Label Type

Object Label

Label

Chest of drawers, 1815-1830 mahogany and mahogany veneers, pine secondary wood coastal New England Bequest of Dorothy Dennett

Label Type

Cultural/Historical Context

Label

This chest of drawers shares many similarities with its counterpart to the right. Retaining the curved or bowed front and the scalloped skirt, it has been updated by the use of engaged reeded columns at the front corners which terminate in turned legs and feet, a feature that found favor in the 1820s and 1830s throughout New England, and especially along the coast. The columns on this chest protrude more than those from other cabinetmakers’ shops, perhaps a diagnostic feature. In any event, they were an effective means by which a cabinetmaker could update the standard form that he had been making for a number of years. Other furniture forms - bedsteads, tables, clock cases, and stands - featured bold turned decoration in a variety of forms resembling roping, reeding or fluting, vases, balusters, rings and reels on posts, legs, and feet.