Dry sink

1800-1850

Measurements

35-1/4 in x 62-1/4 in x 19 in

Materials

White pine

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Mrs. Alfred C. Harrison

Accession Number

1969.235

Condition Notes

The copper liner inside the dry sink is modern.  The left side of the tray has wooden pegs driven into two of the three nail holes to reinforce them.

Comments

This dry sink is essentially a tray with dovetailed sides set on end boards with a shelf between them. The dovetails in the corners of the tray have wedges driven into the pins to hold the joint together, although some later reinforcing nails have been added in places.  The top of each end board is cut into two rectangular tenons that pierce the bottom of the tray; those tenons are diagonally wedged.  Similarly, the ends of the shelf are cut into two rectangular tenons that pierce the end boards and are also diagonally wedged from the outside.  The shelf also slides into shallow grooves cut into the insides of the end boards.  The bottoms of the end boards have arched undercuts that create smaller feet.

The shaping of the tops of the tray sides provides clues to when this dry sink may have been made.  The tops of the sides suggest some washstands of the 1820s.  In contrast, the serpentine shaping on the fronts of the board ends has little reference to other work.  The raised center section along the back of the tray is also too general.  The woodworking techniques are long-standing, as is the use of white pine.  Remnants of red paint are visible in several areas.