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High chest of drawers
Attributed to: John Townsend (American, 1733–1809)
About 1756–59
Object Place: Newport, Rhode Island
Medium/Technique
Mahogany, white pine, yellow poplar
Dimensions
221.61 x 99.06 x 51.75 cm (87 1/4 x 39 x 20 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
The M. and M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts
Accession Number41.577
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsFurniture – Case furniture and boxes
The extraordinary carving of shell, knee, and foot; the drawer arrangement; and the construction details firmly link this chest to the shop of John Townsend, who was just beginning a long career that established him as one of Newport's most celebrated furniture makers. Mahogany high chests were the most expensive form in a furniture maker's repertoire. A subtle feature is the carefully chosen pattern of mahogany grain that zigzags across the drawer fronts.
Catalogue Raisonné
Eighteenth-century American Arts No. 32
Yale RIF811
ProvenancePurchased, probably from Adele Nicolay, niece of Miss Potter of Kingston, Rhode Island, for the "M. & M. Karolik Collection of Eighteenth-Century American Arts"