Images(4)

Kast

Period1720 - 1750

MediumRed gum (determined by microanalysis), yellow pine, and tulip poplar

Dimensions79.25 × 78.5 × 28.88 in. (201.3 × 199.4 × 73.3 cm)

ClassificationsStorage Furniture

Credit LineGift of Mrs. William C. Riker

Object number1982.412

DescriptionThe traditional kast form in two parts. A wide cornice attached to the cupboard section projects over a pair of doors with central raised panels framed by applied moldings. The center stile is not architectural but is attached to the right door. The center, left, and right stiles have pairs of narrow vertical panels framed by applied moldings. Short, horizontal molding pieces, known as glyphs, are applied above, between, and below these narrow vertical panels. The base section includes a single drawer with molded edges and turned wooden knobs. The base is ornamented with three diamond shaped, molded panels set at center, left, and right. The entire piece rests on two massive turned ball front feet, and a pair of simple board back feet. The doors open to reveal an interior fitted with two full-depth shelves and a third half-depth upper shelf. The kast retains an early if not original finish.
Curatorial RemarksOver fifty kasten are known that have the distinctive design of applied mahogany panels on the front stiles. The greatest number that retain family histories come from Kings County on western Long Island, Staten Island, and central New Jersey, where the kast design was probably endemic to those areas. With its impeccable provenance from Monmouth County, this particular example may well have been made there but influenced in its form and details by those from greater Brooklyn. While it has two vertical panels surrounded by molding on the three front stiles, the kas lacks applied mahogany within the moldings. The majority of Dutch settlers in Monmouth County came from Kings County, and maintained contact with their relatives there for generations.NotesThe known history of this Dutch kast begins with Hendrick Hendrickson (1737 - 1811), a successful farmer in Holmdel, Monmouth County. It might be similar to the cupboard owned by his great uncle Hendrick Hendrickson (ca. 1666 - 1734). His estate inventory, taken on 3 June 1734 and which totaled 193 pounds, included such items as a sundial, a tankard, a "pleasure sled shod with iron," etc. One entry reads as follows, "To one cupboard with wearing Apparral [sic] in it; 3 pillow cases, two table cloaths [sic] and a towel; a silver hilted sword, a pair of pistols and holsters with an old saddle; and housing a brash [brass] warming pan & three square bottles, an earthen pott, jug and dish; a small earthen cup and a tin funnell." All of that was appraised as one lot that came to 18 pounds. Eighteenth century English language inventories in Monmouth County frequently refer to Dutch kasten as "Dutch cupboards," or more frequently as just cupboards. This particular citation includes the cupboard, which would not have been specified if it were an architectural built-in storage space. In that instance, the entry would have read, "Contents of a cupboard" or a closet. The cupboard in Hendrickson's inventory was certainly of large capacity to contain all of those miscellaneous items such as a saddle, textiles, a brass warming pan, and all of the other kitchen ware type articles. It's easy to conclude that it was indeed a Dutch kast, in this instance functioning like a modern day closet which, when the doors were closed, kept a myriad of things out of sight. No will or inventory was filed for Hendrickson's nephew Hendrick Hendrickson (1700 - 1753) as he died intestate. The lengthy itemization of his great-nephew's estate, however, taken on 9 December 1811 does contain the following reference, "Cupboard in Entry" appraised at $5.00. By the late eighteenth century, the first floor entrance hallway of a two story house was a typical location for a Dutch kast, no doubt due to their large size. The kast then descended through five more generations of the family to Mary Holmes Duncan (1901 - 1977). When sold about 1965 to Mrs. William C. Riker, President of the Association, the bulky cupboard had been relegated to an outbuilding on the Duncan farm. A clipping from the New York Times issue of 5 February 1939, found in the Duncan family archives now owned by the Monmouth County Park System, indicates that their family kast was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 6 February to 22 April of that year as part of a pioneering exhibition on early New York furniture. The kast is illustrated in the article.

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