EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS, 1740-1770

Distinguished by its fluted pilasters and inlaid ornament, this bonnet-top high chest illustrates one of the more elaborate examples of the form made in mid-eighteenth century Massachusetts. High chests with arched recesses from this era are seen with relative frequency, but their embellishment with fan- or shell-inlay is a rare detail and only slightly more common than the presence of carved and gilded shells. The inlaid device was an design used by English cabinetmakers on double-case furniture forms such as chest-on-chests and desk-and-bookcases. In America, this ornament was used primarily for the decoration of high chests and their matching dressing tables. As discussed by Brock Jobe, the inlaying of a shell in this manner was a costly additional expense. In 1737, Richard Woodward, one of the cabinetmakers employed by the merchant-craftsman Nathaniel Holmes, charged Holmes eighteen shillings for 'putting in a Shell' and one pound for 'Setting 2 Shells' (Nancy E. Richards and Nancy Goyne Evans, New England Furniture at Winterthur: Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods (Winterthur, 1997), p. 485; Brock Jobe, "The Boston Furniture Industry, 1720-1740," Boston Furniture of the Eighteenth Century, (Boston, 1974), p. 19). An unusual detail seen on this high chest is the scooped rather than straight profile of the central skirt.