High Chest of Drawers

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • High Chest of Drawers
Datec. 1750–1780
Possible placeBaltimore, Maryland, United States
Possible placePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumBlack-mangrove; black cherry, Atlantic white cedar, black walnut, yelow-poplar, and eastern white pine
Dimensions96 3/4 × 44 × 23 3/4 in. (245.7 × 111.8 × 60.3 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.69.64
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Philadelphia Stairhall (Upstairs)
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description





Philadelphia’s familial and commercial relationship with Annapolis and Baltimore has long complicated the identification of Maryland’s Rococo furniture. Elements previously thought to indicate a Maryland origin include the carved shell pendant, fluted, chamfered corners terminating in a lamb’s-tongue carving, and the vertically oriented pediment, although all of these can also be perceived in early Philadelphia Rococo furniture. By contrast, the earliest drawer arrangement of Philadelphia high chests was probably patterned after their New England counterparts (see B.69.348).

Technical notes: Black-mangrove; black cherry (interior drawer partitions), Atlantic white cedar (drawer bottoms, upper case top), yellow-poplar (drawer sides and backs, back boards), black walnut (interior corner glue blocks), eastern white pine (pediment blocks). The chest is constructed with full dustboards and partitions. The bottom and bonnet are fully enclosed. The rest of the assembly is handled in the typical manner. The drawers are numbered in pencil. The lower case top extends to the back of the chest. The brasses appear to be original.

Related examples: A high chest signed and dated by the Philadelphia cabinetmaker Henry Clifton in 1753 exhibits a number of similarities with the Bayou Bend high chest (Heckscher and Bowman 1992, pp. 182, 199). A dressing table matching the Clifton high chest was sold at Christie’s, New York, sale 7710, June 23, 1993, lot 218. Other high chests are recorded in Moore 1903, p. 140; Moon 1908, pp. 178–79; Eberlein and McClure 1914, pi. xvm, fig. 6; American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, New York, sale 3878, January 8–10, 1931, lot 396; Antiques 89 (June 1966), p. 774; Naeve 1978, p. 14; Monkhouse and Michie 1986, p. 82, no. 28.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


ProvenanceGeorge S. Palmer, Esq. (1855–1934), New London, Connecticut, 1887–1927; consigned to [American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, New York, November 6, 1927, lot 282]; purchased through Margaret B. Adams (Mrs. Wayman Adams, 1882–1965) as agent for Miss Ima Hogg, 1927; given to MFAH, 1969.
Exhibition History"100 Tall Texans," George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, College Station, Texas, September 30, 2006–March 18, 2007.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
Drawers numbered [pencil]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

scan from file photograph
c. 1730–1800
Black walnut; yellow-poplar, red oak, Atlantic white cedar, chestnut, eastern white pine, and black walnut
B.61.82
scan from file photograph
c. 1760–1800
Black walnut; red gum, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, southern yellow pine, and eastern white pine
B.69.527
High Chest of Drawers
c. 1760–1800
Mahogany; mahogany, Atlantic white cedar, cedar, southern yellow pine, and yellow-poplar
B.69.75
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1750–1800
Mahogany and red gum; black cherry, eastern white pine, and Atlantic white cedar
B.69.23.2
Side Chair (one of a pair)
c. 1750–1800
Mahogany and red gum; black cherry, eastern white pine, and Atlantic white cedar
B.69.23.1
Desk
c. 1700–1730
Black walnut, undetermined burl veneer, and eastern white pine; eastern white pine, black walnut, yellow-poplar, cherry, Cuban oyster wood (Gymnanthes lucida), and chestnut
B.69.42
c. 1740–1800
Black walnut; southern yellow pine, Atlantic white cedar, yellow-poplar, and spruce
B.66.15
Eight-day Clock
Peter Stretch
c. 1730–1740
Black walnut; southern yellow pine, eastern white pine, and Atlantic white cedar
B.86.4
Dressing Table
c. 1760–1800
Black walnut; black walnut, yellow-poplar and Atlantic white cedar
B.69.78
scan from file photograph
c. 1730–1775
Soft maple, black walnut, and inlay; eastern white pine
B.69.221
Chest of Drawers
c. 1775–1795
Black cherry; eastern white pine
B.69.26
Card Table
c. 1820–1830
Grained, painted, and gilded mahogany, and birch; mahogany veneer on eastern white pine with black walnut banding, ash, eastern white pine, cherry, and original brass casters
B.68.31