Blanket chest

1770-1800

Measurements

27-1/4 in x 47-3/4 in x 22-3/4 in

Materials

Walnut; tulip poplar (all secondary woods)

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.599

Condition Notes

This chest survives in extraordinarily good condition.

Provenance

Bequest of of the estate of Dr. and Mrs. J. Newberry Reynolds to The David Wilson Mansion, Inc., in 1942.

Comments

The blanket chest is a classic and finely made example of the form as executed in walnut (rather than of painted wood).  The case is made with pronounced dovetails accenting the front corners, also visible in the ornately scalloped bracket feet.  The chest lid, attached with iron strap hinges, is made of two boards, the ends of which are tenoned into molded cleats.  The front and side edges of the lid are decoratively molded.  The molded edge along the top of the base molding is also more complex and better executed than the norm.  The chest cavity is above two side-by-side drawers.  The drawer sides and backs are made of boards that are slightly lighter than in most other blanket chests, suggesting finer workmanship.  The dovetails in the backs of the drawers are wedged.  Inside the chest, there is a till built on the left side.

Bibliography

Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans, ed. Scott T. Swank (New York:  W.W. Norton for Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1983), 53-54, fig.15.