Federal Inlaid and Figured Mahogany Serpentine Chest of Drawers

Object Details

Object Essay

Bureaus made in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York are distinct from their New England counterparts. Rather than the bold use of large panels of contrasting light and dark woods and the three-part facade typical of the furniture of cities such as Boston, Salem, and Portsmouth, they are likely to exhibit long drawers of richly figured mahogany highlighted with satinwood cross-banding or panels formed by stringing. This handsome Maryland-made chest, with its shapely serpentine case and beautiful veneers, is an excellent example of this subtle but effective mid-Atlantic style.

The overall form and decoration of this chest, particularly the serpentine case, satinwood cross-banding edged with light and dark stringing, and Cupid’s-bow skirt, are closely related to the standard Baltimore examples. There are some small differences, however, which may indicate that the chest was not made in the city but rather in an area strongly influenced by the work of Baltimore cabinetmakers.^{1_{This chest is published in Fitzgerald 1982, fig. V–37.}} Records show that considerable quantities of Baltimore Federal-period furniture were being exported to western Maryland, the Eastern Shore, southern Pennsylvania, Virginia, and even farther west and south. The use of either cross-banding or stringing forming hollow-cornered rectangles is often seen on the drawers of Baltimore case furniture, but it is unusual to see both used together. The specific outline of the skirt, with a somewhat shallow central scallop and an extra curve at the leg bracket, and the fan motif that embellishes it are not of the standard forms.^{2_{Compare the more typical Baltimore fan seen on a closely related chest, Baltimore 1947, no. 84, and also Miller 1966, no. 730.}} Similarly, most Baltimore serpentine chests have serpentine rather than Cupid’s-bow skirts, the latter shape being more commonly found on straight-front chests and desks.^{3_{[See Baltimore 1947, nos. 83, 84, 85, and 87; Elder and Stokes, nos. 69 and 76; and Weidman 1984, no. 96.]}} The heavy use of yellow pine in the drawer construction and the construction of the skirt are also atypical of Baltimore work of this period. Nevertheless, the sophisticated and urban character of the chest, and its close derivation from plate 76 of George Hepplewhite’s Guide, may point to its being made by a Baltimore cabinetmaker of independent mind.

Gregory R. Weidman

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.