Joseph Barry
Chest of Drawers

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Chest of Drawers
Datec. 1815
Made inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumMahogany, tulip poplar, and white pine
Dimensions42 × 47 × 23 1/2 in. (106.7 × 119.4 × 59.7 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by the Theta Charity Antiques Show in honor of Betty Black Hatchett, by exchange
Object numberB.2020.2
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Music Room
On view

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

The late classical style of the early 1800s is closely associated with growing interest in ancient Greece and Rome, but another influence on the style was ancient Egypt. This chest of drawers is attributed to Irish-born Philadelphia cabinetmaker Joseph Barry, who advertised in 1812 that he had recently returned from the European style centers of London and Paris and offered to the public furniture "superbly finished in the rich Egyptian style." In 1815, he advertised chests like this one: "Eliptic [sic] Bureaus, [with] Columns and Egyptian Figures."


Provenance[Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York]; Westervelt Company; consigned to [Christie’s, New York, sale 16796, January 2019, lot 1355]; purchased by [Bernard & S. Dean Levy]; purchased by exchange for credit by MFAH, 2020.
Exhibition History“Neo-Classicism in America: Inspiration and Innovation, 1810–1840,” Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 1991.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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c. 1730–1760
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Side Chair
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c. 1816
Mahogany and mahogany veneer; ash, tulip poplar, and brass
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c. 1825–1835
Gilded mahogany and mahogany veneer; white oak, soft maple, ash, eastern white pine, and yellow-poplar
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c. 1750–1782
Cherry; eastern white pine and southern yellow pine
B.28.1