From the Middle Ages onward householders had used lidded chests for storage, and their simple forms changed only very slowly. Finally cabinetmakers did away with the lidded compartment altogether, creating this type of four-drawer chest, which is stilll found today. In many ways this chest cheerfully pretends to a status it does not possess. The painted decoration relates to other examples generally attributed to coastal Connecticut. The chest's construction is both solid and sophisticated.
Single dovetails join drawer fronts and sides.
Along with the heavy construction and use of side runners to support the drawers, these features suggest an early eighteenth-century date in a period of rapidly changing technology and form. About 1880 Rosewood, other exotic woods, glass, various inlays, mother of pearl, and original velvet 80 x 36 x 24 in. Herter were German immigrants to New York. In 1865 they established a cabinetmaking and decorating firm that attracted wealthy clients in New York, Boston, Minneapolis, Chicago, and San Francisco. This new American upper class, its fortunes founded in commerce, proved eager to demonstrate a cosmopolitan awareness of both history and good taste.