High chest of drawers

When European merchants started traveling to China and Japan in the late fifteenth century, they returned with exotic wares, including tea, silk, porcelain, and lacquerwork. The European aristocracy became enamored with the worldly mystique of these objects, and by the late seventeenth century demand soared, encouraging local craftsmen to imitate the imported wares. "Japanned" decoration, as it was known in the eighteenth century, is a greatly simplified imitation of Asian lacquerwork. When the technique and style reached Boston via England, it struck a responsive chord, as evidenced by this outstanding high chest. In fact, the production of japanned furniture in colonial America was largely, if not exclusively, limited to Boston craftsmen.Asian lacquerwork consists of many layers of clear, hard lacquer (sap from the Asian tree Rhus vernicifera), ornamented with raised and gilt figures and scenes. Without access to the same raw materials as their Asian counterparts, European and American craftsmen developed their own methods using local resources. Instead of multiple layers of lacquer, American japanners simply applied oil paint to tightly grained woods, such as the butternut of this high chest. The most common background on American japanned wares is solid black, which was created by adding lampblack to a resin. This high chest, however, has a simulated tortoiseshell background, a treatment predominantly seen in the 1730s and 1740s. To achieve this look, the japanner first applied a vermillion (red) layer of paint, then streaked the surface with lampblack in resin. Fanciful figures, animals, and flowers were then added, either painted on the surface in gold, or built up with gesso, gilded, and articulated with black ink lines. To complete the sumptuous effect, the entire surface of the piece was varnished to a glittering finish.At least ten japanners worked in Boston before 1750. Several design characteristics link this example to work by William Randall and Robert Davis, among them the large animals and figures (see the dog on the third long drawer), oversized floral ornament (on the center of the second long drawer), long-necked birds resembling cranes (on the first and second long drawers and the skirt), and isolated, rather than integrated, groups of motifs. This text was adapted from Ward, et al., MFA Highlights: American Decorative Arts & Sculpture (Boston, 2006) available at www.mfashop.com/mfa-publications.html.

"Japanned" decoration is a greatly simplified imitation of Asian lacquer work. In colonial America, the production of Japanned furniture was largely, if not exclusively, limited to Boston, where at least ten japanners worked before 1750. Several design characteristics link this example to two of these craftsmen, William Randall and Robert Davis. These include the large figures and animals (note the dog on the third long drawer), the oversized floral ornament (on the center of the second long drawer), long-necked birds resembling cranes (on the first and second long drawers and the skirt), and isolated, rather than integrated, groups of motifs.