Chest of Drawers
Period1760 - 1800
MediumWalnut, hard pine, and white cedar
Dimensions35 × 37.5 × 21.5 in. (88.9 × 95.3 × 54.6 cm)
ClassificationsStorage Furniture
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Varick Stout
Object number1991.542
DescriptionRectangular top with moldings applied to the front and side edges. Four graduated drawers have thumbnail molded edges, pairs of original brass bail handles with round backplates, and small original center oval brass escutcheons. The front corners of the case are ornamented with quarter columns that have three flutes. Simple ogee bracket feet are found on both front and back corners below applied front and side moldings. The reversed rear drawer dovetails are pinned on the sides.Curatorial RemarksThe chest of drawers is an example from a group of furniture influenced by Delaware Valley cabinetmaking practices but probably made in Freehold, Monmouth County, by an as-yet unidentified joiner. A second virtually identical chest of drawers from the Reid family of Freehold (accession number 1984.536) and this one from the Throckmorton family of Freehold were clearly made by the same person. They share the same pattern for the ogee bracket feet, both have three flutes in the quarter columns, and the capitals and bases of the columns match exactly. Unlike drawer construction in the Middletown school, Freehold cabinetmakers made the drawer back dominant, meaning that the upper edge of the drawer sides stop before the rear surface of the drawer and the drawer back extends to the outer surfaces of the sides. This unknown Freehold craftsman also used thinner drawer stock and a larger number of smaller dovetails than those found in case furniture from the Middletown area.NotesAll four feet have sustained damaged and have been repaired.
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