Antique New England Chippendale Tiger Maple Five Drawer Tall Chest Circa 1780

Description

With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this remarkable and historically important antique … more With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this remarkable and historically important antique chest of drawers. This chest was constructed somewhere in New England presumably close to the decade of 1780 - 1790, however could possibly predate that time frame by a generation. At this time, the influence of famous cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale was well established in the original colonies at the dawn of the American Republic. The format of this case of drawers is generally regarded as a tall chest due to the lateral configuration of drawers. Every drawer features boldly figured tiger maple along with primitive hand cut dovetailed drawer construction, chamfered drawer panels, and Queen Anne period brass drawer pulls with batwing shaped back plates and escutcheon plates. Of particular note are the cotter pins securing each drawer pull through a small, pierced hole which allows the pins to be spread along the backside of every drawer face so that the pulls might be tightly secured. The cotter pins are fastened through the original holes with no evidence of secondary holes thus leading us to believe that the brass hardware could possibly be original to the chest.

The primary case is constructed from old growth native New England pine which has oxidized beautifully. The top of the chest features bold dovetailed case joinery which was prominently put forth to demonstrate the premium constructive quality labored into this chest. Additionally, dovetailed drawer rails are made to be visible between each of the drawers as to further make apparent how well built this example is upon first glance. The chest also features a well-formed crown molding, molded or rounded drawer faces, finely scrolled bracket feet, and an exceptional base molding spanning the front and sides. The finish is quite old and possibly the first surface with the chest having been scrubbed and cleaned generationally as is common with most antique furniture. The backboards are entirely all original and display exceptional oxidation throughout two and a half centuries of continual use. This tall chest measures 37 1/2" wide x 19" deep x 46 1/2" tall overall. less