Signed and dated on the top of its lower case, this imposing chest represents the finest furniture made in Boston toward the end of the American Revolution. Its bombé (swelled base) form and claw-and-ball feet are conservative, reflecting the Rococo style that had been popular in America since the 1750s. Its restrained line and refined carving are more closely aligned with the Neoclassical style, which would dominate taste after the war. According to family tradition, Cogswell, one of Boston's leading cabinetmakers, made this piece for John Derby, the son of Elias Hasket Derby, for use in his room at Harvard College.

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