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High Chest of Drawers

1715–30
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 713
The high chest of drawers was introduced to the colonies in the 1690s and became the primary form of case furniture in the William and Mary style. This imposing piece, with its bold, fluted pilasters on the front and sides and dramatic projections in the entablature at the top and mid-moldings, was strongly influenced by classical architecture as set forth in the books of Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) and introduced in England by the architect Inigo Jones (1573-1652). It may have belonged to Edward Holyoke (b. 1689), who served as president of Harvard College from 1737 to 1769.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: High Chest of Drawers
  • Date: 1715–30
  • Geography: Made in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Black walnut, white pine
  • Dimensions: 69 3/4 x 43 3/8 x 21 in. (177.2 x 110.1 x 53.3 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Clarence Dillon, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.132.1a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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High chest of drawers, Japanned soft maple, poplar, white pine, American
High chest of drawers
American
1710–30
High chest of drawers, Black walnut, maple, poplar, hickory, white pine, American
High chest of drawers
American
1700–1730
High chest of drawers, Japanned maple, japanned white pine, white pine, japanned birch; brass, American
High chest of drawers
American
1740–60
Desk, Black walnut, ash, white pine, poplar, American
Desk
American
1700–1730
Oval table with falling leaves, Black walnut, white pine, American
Oval table with falling leaves
American
1690–1720

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