Joined chest

Many woodworking shops were active in seventeenth-century New England, and ordinarily the sources of their furniture design can be traced back to specific areas of England. This example is from Ipswitch in Essex County of eastern Massachusetts. The chest is related to those associated with William Searle, who arrived in Essex County from Devonshire, England, in 1663, and with Thomas Dennis, also from southwestern England, who married Searle's widow and is the more likely maker of this example. The shallow relief carving covering almost every square inch of its facade is evocative of the Devon style, as is its original painted decoration, much of which has survived though muted by time.This text was adapted from Ward, et al., MFA Highlights: American Decorative Arts & Sculpture (Boston, 2006) available at www.mfashop.com/mfa-publications.html.