Chest of drawers
- DATE:
- 1750–1780
- MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE:
- Mahogany and pine
- CLASSIFICATION:
- Furnishings
- DIMENSIONS:
- 30 × 36 1/2 × 21 7/8 in. (76.2 × 92.71 × 55.56 cm)
- DEPARTMENT:
- Decorative Arts and Design
- LOCATION:
- American Art - 18th Century, Level 4
- CREDIT LINE:
- Dallas Museum of Art, The Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Collection, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Sharp
- COPYRIGHT:
- Image courtesy Dallas Museum of Art.
- OBJECT NUMBER:
- 1985.B.31
General Description
The front of this chest of drawers seems to move in and out, punctuated at each segment by a brass handle or lock escutcheon. This "swelled," or blocked, front design was especially popular in Boston and Newport during the mid-18th century. The labor and additional material required to shape the curved facade made such a piece extremely costly. The wealthy Boston apothecary Daniel Scott may have been the original owner of this example. The piece is branded "D. Scott" on the back, and Scott's death inventory of 1770 lists both a "Beaureau" [sic] and a "case of drawers," terms then used interchangeably for this type of chest.
Excerpt from
Kevin W. Tucker, DMA unpublished material, Label text (1985.B.31), 2006.