Chest of Drawers

Details

Descriptive Terms

chests of drawers
brass (alloy)
Chest Of Drawers

Label

Crafted in the Boston area between 1764 and 1780, this oxbow chest of drawers was likely part of the bedchamber suite of Charles Barrett, a wealthy Massachusetts-born shopkeeper and land speculator who moved to New Ipswich, New Hampshire, after his marriage to Rebecca Minot. A fashionable oxbow curve graces his chest's mahogany façade, more labor-intensive than a straight surface. Furniture historians refer to a façade that protrudes outward at the sides and recesses inward at the center in one curved line as an “oxbow.” This chest features original brasses with stylish back plates and white pine interior wood which furniture historians term “secondary wood” due to its interior status compared to the exterior mahogany “primary” wood.

Maker

Unknown

Location of Origin

MA

Dimensions

30 1/4 x 34 x 21.5 (HxWxD) (inches)

Credit Line

Gift of Caroline Barr Wade

Accession Number

1958.80

Places

Boston (Suffolk county, Massachusetts)