Chippendale Mahogany and Eastern White Pine Serpentine Chest of Drawers

Object Details

This small, distinctive chest is probably the “Chest of Drawers” valued at 12s. in the inventory of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, estate of John Parrott.^{1_{John Parrott. Inventory, taken April 8, 1790, Docket 5518, Rockingham County Probate Records, Rockingham County Courthouse, Exeter, New Hampshire.}} Born in Broadhempston, Devonshire, Parrott joined the British navy at seventeen and, in 1759, sailed as a cabin boy on the expedition to capture Quebec in the French and Indian Wars. He was discharged that year and soon afterward made his way to Portsmouth. There he married the daughter of a prominent merchant and began a successful career as a trader and ship captain. His voyages took him throughout the West Indies and to Europe. He died suddenly of an illness at age forty-eight, leaving his widow, Martha Brackett Parrott, to inherit a large house on Chestnut Street and a farm in the adjoining town of Greenland.^{2_{See Dr. James A. Spalding, “What I know about the Parrotts and Toscans of Portsmouth, Greenland, Brookfield, Middleton and Lancaster. All in New Hampshire,” typescript (1931), New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston 1–10. For further information on the family, see Benjamin K. Hough, “Parrott Family,” typescript, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston.}} The Portsmouth residence contained such luxuries as a Wilton carpet, silver utensils, an easy chair, a high-post bedstead with hangings, a tea table, and a Pembroke table, in addition to this chest of drawers.^{3_{The total value of the estate was £961.17.11 and included £10.16.8 for “32 ½ Oz Silver,” Parrott Inventory, Rockingham County Probate Records.}}

Though the chest’s design corresponds to Boston patterns of the 1770s, the subtle curve of the serpentine facade, the fluted pilasters flanking the drawers, and the dressing slide above the top drawer distinguish it from most Bay Colony chests.^{4_{For a Boston chest of similar design, see Randall 1965, no. 29.}} The slide was not unknown during the period, and late 18th-century price books occasionally cite it as an option. A London guide of 1793 lists the price of a standard four-drawer “Serpentine Dressing Chest” at £1.17.0 and notes that a “slider with 1 pannel lip’d for cloth” costs an extra £0.3.3.^{5_{Cabinet-Makers’ London Book of Prices, 5, 7.}}

The Parrott family chit, like the china table (see Acc. No. 66.100) and Pembroke table (see Acc. No. 69.17.1) in the Collection, affirms the presence of skillful artisans in Portsmouth. Its diminutive design also offers a vivid contrast to the larger, more boldly serpentined chests made in the town during the Federal period (see Acc. No. 64.55).

Brock Jobe

Excerpted from Clement E. Conger, et al. Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1991.