Chest-on-chest

This chest, originally owned by the Warland family of Cambridge, Massachusetts, appears at first glance to be English-made, given its broad proportions, walnut veneers, fluted and canted front corners, recessed inlaid shell, and "slider" (a pull-out shelf in the mid-section used for folding textiles and clothing). However, further analysis indicated that the piece was made of native woods, including American black walnut and eastern white pine. In addition, microanalysis proved that the pollen trapped in the hardened mixture of fats and dust in the crevices comes from trees, plants, and grasses characteristic of coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

This chest-on-chest appears at first glance to be an English-made object, given its broad proportions, walnut veneers, fluted and canted front corners, recessed inlaid shell in the lowest drawer, and "slider" (a pull-out shelf, fitted with brass pulls, housed in the mid-section of the object and used for folding textiles and clothing)-all features characteristic of English furniture in the early eighteenth century.However, the woods used in the chest's construction are American black walnut (Juglans nigra) and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), both native to North America and characteristic of furniture made in America. Moreover, according to microanalysis, the pollen trapped in the hardened mixture of fats and dust that adhered to the crevices of the piece comes from trees, plants, and grasses characteristic of coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The chest is also known to have a history of ownership in the Warland family of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Once it was recognized as an American-made object, its relationships to other Boston pieces in an Anglo-American fashion suddenly stood out: the inlaid compass-work star, for example, is found on many other Boston case pieces, while the slider was also popular in Boston. This chest and a few related objects are the furniture equivalent of the stylish silver made in Boston by John Coney, Edward Winslow, and others, all testimony to a flourishing artistic community in the first quarter of the eighteenth century and to the importance of London-trained craftsmen who immigrated to Boston.This text was adapted from Ward, et al., MFA Highlights: American Decorative Arts & Sculpture (Boston, 2006) available at www.mfashop.com/mfa-publications.html.