Chest on Chest
Period1760 - 1790
MediumMahogany (by microanalysis), pine, and tulip poplar
Dimensions78.88 × 52.25 × 26.25 in. (200.3 × 132.7 × 66.7 cm)
ClassificationsStorage Furniture
Credit LineGift of Mrs. G. Allen Collins in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rulif V. Lawrence, 1953
Object number1984.535
DescriptionA very large chest on chest in two parts. The upper section includes a molded cornice above a pierced fretwork gallery, four graduated drawers with thumbnail molded edges and brass bails with solid backplates, and brass escutcheons. The front corners of the upper case are chamfered and fluted. The lower section features applied waist molding and four graduated drawers with thumbnail molded edges, as well as brasses and escutcheons that match those on the upper case. Four large claw and ball feet below a gadrooned front skirt support this very heavy piece of case furniture. The top drawer front and all the brasses have been replaced.Curatorial RemarksThis seemingly oversized, imposing chest on chest is typical of some New York furniture of the period in being generous in its proportions. Its feet also have that squared shape associated with New York City workmanship. The pierced fretwork under the cornice is an extra detail provided by its maker, as is the boldly grained mahogany selected for the drawer fronts.NotesAssociation accession records described this piece at the time of its acquisition in 1953 as follows, "Mahogany Chippendale Chest-on-Chest, c. 1765. Bel[onged]. to the Brinckerhoff family of Freehold." A branch of this prominent New York family did indeed live in Freehold, Monmouth County. This very large and particularly wide chest on chest was likely first owned by Abraham Brinckerhoff (1745 - 1823) of New York and his wife Dorothea Remsen (1747 - 1825). It then descended in the family as follows, to their son Abraham Brinckerhoff (1768 - 1825) and his wife Catherine Remsen (1778 - 1860); then to their daughter Eleanor Remsen Brinckerhoff (1815 - 1884) and her husband Peter Vredenburgh (1805 - 1873), who lived in Freehold, Monmouth County. Eleanor's mother, Catherine Remsen Brinckerhoff, resided with her daughter's family in Freehold. She died there and was interred in the family plot in Maplewood Cemetery. This explains how so many Brinckerhoff family heirlooms ended up in this New Jersey branch of the family. In all likelihood, the chest on chest then descended to William H. Vredenburgh (1840 - 1920), who may have sold it. How it came into the hands of Judge Rulif V. Lawrence (1871 - 1938) is not known. There is no blood connection between Lawrence or his wife Adeline Swift Yard (1868 - 1942) and the Brinckerhoff / Vredenburgh family. The chest on chest was donated in 1953 to the Association by Judge Lawrence's daughter Sylvia Lawrence Collins (1906 - 1963) in memory of her parents. For portraits of Abraham Brinckerhoff, Dorothea Remsen Brinckerhoff and their son James Lefferts Brinckerhoff also owned by the Association, see accession numbers 1977.3.10, 1977.3.11, and 1977.3.56.
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