High Chest of Drawers

In most 18th-century homes, clothing was either hung from hooks on a wall or folded and placed in lockable chests of drawers. According to household inventories of the period, textiles were among the most valuable items in the home. Until late in the century, most were imported to America, which added greatly to their cost. This high chest, produced in the final quarter of the 18th century, reflects its original owner’s wealth and social standing. Note the sweep of the broken-scroll pediment, along with the graceful vase-shaped finials, carved sunburst on the plinth supporting the central finial, delicately carved fans on the upper and lower central drawers, gently curving skirt, and especially the elongated proportions of its elegant cabriole legs. All of these elements associate this chest with 18th-century cabinet-making traditions in Wethersfield, Connecticut, a community on the Connecticut River southeast of Hartford.