DescriptionThe naturalistic carving on this tall chest is the work of highly skilled London-trained craftsmen who came to Philadelphia before the Revolutionary War to seek their fortunes. Characteristically, these makers took motifs from London pattern books and rearranged them to suit local tastes. Thus, the scroll pediment with finial bust and cornice moldings were taken directly from illustrations in Thomas Chippendale's famous "Gentlemen and Cabinet Maker's Director" (1762), the serpent-and-swan motif in the central bottom drawer from Thomas Johnson's " New Book of Ornaments" (1762).

ProvenanceGeorge S. Palmer, New London, Connecticut, until 1918