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Chests-on-chests
Chests-on-chests
On View
On view

Chests-on-chests

Artist Barrett's Mill shop 1765 - 1775
Dateca. 1776
Terms
  • Chests-on-chests
  • Elm
  • Maple
  • Red Oak
  • White Pine
  • Yellow Pine
  • Concord (Massachusetts)
Dimensions213.2 × 101.52 × 48.22 cm (83 15/16 × 40 × 19 in.)
MarkingsThe proper left small drawer in the upper case has a scratched inscription "J. Barrett / 1776" and scratched on the underside of the bottom of the upper case is the date "1790."
Credit LineChest on Chest, attributed to the Barrett's Mill Shop, Concord, Ma., about 1776. Concord Museum Collection, Gift of Cummings E. Davis; F803.
Object numberF803
DescriptionAttributed to the Barrett's Mill shop. Maple, white pine, yellow pine, red oak, and elm. Chippendale American style, 1790. Date cut into bottom of the upper section. Three flame finials, the center one of which seems a replacement. Beneath the center is a v-shaped piece. Upper center drawer is carved in the rising sun pattern.

In the upper case: The upper case is framed like F1107 with some exceptions; the rear stiles, one oak and one yellow pine, are 1x3 inches, now 3x3 inches. The upper backboard is the same thickness as the lower two. The vertical drawer dividers are tenoned through the top and are lapped over and nailed to the horizontal divider below.

In the lower case: The one-board sides are dovetailed to the one-board top. There is no bottom board; a front rail is tenoned into the sides and a rear rail nailed to the back, and side rails are tenoned to the front and rear rails. The drawer supports are nailed to the sides at the back and tenoned into the drawer dividers. The central drop is tenoned and pinned to the lower molding, as are the feet.

The drawers are constructed as in F1107, except for the small drawers in the upper case; the chamfered bottom boards of these drawers run front-to-back and are let into grooves cut in the sides.

Two drawer supports are missing from the left side of the lower case. The proper left rear foot has an old nailed repair. Considerable traces of an old, very dark, finish remain.

The proper left small drawer in the upper case has a scratched inscription "J. Barrett / 1776" and scratched on the underside of the bottom of the upper case is the date "1790."

The maker of these cases remains a mystery; he was not trained as a cabinetmaker, owned few tools, and used inferior wood, yet he found a considerable market for his goods in Concord.
Collections
  • Furniture
High Chests
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Joseph Hosmer
ca. 1770
Chests-on-chests
Object number: 1994.60
Joseph Hosmer
1782
Dressing Tables
Object number: F611
1755-1780
Chest of Drawers
Object number: F128
1690-1710
Dropleaf Tables
Object number: F1006
1745-1760
Object number: F1105
Joseph Hosmer
1790-1810
Object number: F1025
Symonds shop tradition (attributed)
1700-1701
Dropleaf Tables
Object number: F714
1790-1800
Chests
Object number: F1602
James Adams
1820-1830
Board Chests
Object number: 1995.5
1690 - 1720