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Photo: Courtesy Cowan's Auctions, Cincinnati
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High chest of drawers

Object number

RIF2169

Maker

Maker Unknown

Dimensions

72 1/2 × 38 × 19 1/2 in. (184.15 × 96.52 × 49.53 cm)

Date

1740–60

Current location

Unknown

Geography

Made in Rhode Island
(view a map of Rhode Island)

Medium

Maple and birch (primary); yellow poplar (drawer sides); white pine (bottom of upper case)

Provenance

Roland and Marilyn Kemble. Cowan's Auctions, Cincinnati, Ohio, October 6–7, 2006, lot 318

Associated names

Roland Kemble
Marilyn Kemble
Cowan's Auctions

Construction

The top and bottom boards are dovetailed to the case sides; the waist molding is applied to the bottom of the upper case. Three horizontal backboards are fastened with rose head nails to the sides and top of the upper case and are nailed to the back edge of the bottom board. The bottoms of the drawers pass under the sides and runners are attached at the edges; the bottom fits in a groove in the drawer front. Half-blind dovetails attach the drawer fronts to the drawer sides with half keys at the top and bottom. The top edges of the drawer sides are rounded and a lower than the drawer fronts. Half-blind dovetails fasten the backboard to the case sides. The brasses are replaced. Observations from photographs posted on the auction house website.

Bibliography

"Paintings, Furniture to Highlight Cowan's October 6 and 7 Auction," Antiques and the Arts Weekly (September 22, 2006): 58, ill.