Cabinet of boxes
Ralph Mason and Henry Messinger Shops
(Mason (1599–1678/79); Messinger (died in 1681))
1660–1700
Object PlaceBoston, Massachusetts
Medium/TechniqueBlack walnut, fir, red oak, white pine
DimensionsOverall: 44.5 x 43 x 24.6 cm (17 1/2 x 16 15/16 x 9 11/16 in.)
Credit LineFrank B. Bemis Fund
Accession number1982.16
On View
On viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
Decorated with the contrasting, geometric patterns favored by avant-garde London furniture makers, the door of this cabinet opens to reveal nine drawers. Cabinets, like boxes and dressing boxes, stored writing materials and valuables. This cabinet is the only example of its form to survive from the Boston shop tradition of London-trained joiners Mason and Messinger.
Provenance1981, in the collection of Frank Demers, Topsfield, Massachusetts; lent by Frank Demers, January 30, 1981; museum purchase from Jeanne A. G. Demers, Topsfield, Massachusetts, January 1982 (Accession Date 1982)
1750–75
late 18th or early 19th century
1650–1700
12th–13th century
1715–25
1650–1700
about 1840–1850
About 1700–20
about 1840–50
1680–1710
1680–1710