Chest of drawers
John Goddard
(American, 1723/24–1785)
1765–75
Object PlacePossibly Rhode Island
Medium/TechniqueMahogany, red cedar, chestnut, pine, chestnut, yellow poplar
Credit LineGift of Mary Bowen Polk in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Collyer Bowen.
Accession number1981.665
On View
On viewClassificationsFurniture
Collections
This massive chest of drawers has a traditional history of ownership by Peter (Pierre) Simon, a French sea captain of Newport. The chest and its related objects stand apart from the block-and-shell furniture more commonly associated with Newport. This chest (or commode) was probably based on a British design source; it reflects an Anglo-American interpretation of French Rococo taste as well as the cosmopolitan nature of colonial Newport.
ProvenanceThought to have been owned originally by Captain Peter (Pierre) Simon of Newport, Rhode Island; by descent in the family to the donor.
About 1755–70
1760–70
1817-1819
about 1870–80
about 1830
about 1820
