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Chest of drawers
Formerly attributed to: John Goddard (American, 1723/24–1785)
1765–75
Object Place: Possibly Rhode Island
Medium/Technique
Mahogany, red cedar, chestnut, pine, chestnut, yellow poplar
Credit Line
Gift of Mary Bowen Polk in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Collyer Bowen.
Accession Number1981.665
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsFurniture – Case furniture and boxes
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.
Catalogue Raisonné
Yale RIF748
ProvenanceThought to have been owned originally by Captain Peter (Pierre) Simon of Newport, Rhode Island; by descent in the family to the donor.