This high chest-of-drawers is stunning in its display of veneers and elegant proportions. Characteristic in its overall form, double concave carved drawers, and flattened arch skirt to high chests made in Massachusetts, it is a rare example of this type with a flat rather than a bonnet top. A nearly identical example with similar features, drawer arrangement and with a bonnet top and provenance from the Breed family of Massachusetts is illustrated in Levy Galleries, Vanity and Elegance, (New York, 1992), no. 24.

Certain elements, however, also relate this high chest to furniture produced in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The gentle slant of the foot perched upon a high pad is displayed on furniture produced by craftsmen in this seaport town. The distinctive central drop beneath the concave arch fo the lower central drawer and skirt is seen on the front seat rails of chairs concurrently produced by the Gaines family of Portsmouth. A major trading center in the 18th century, Portsmouth ranked third behind New York and Boston in 176-. High style furniture of this quality was certainly within the range and ability of craftsmen from Portsmouth, who were familiar with the output of competing craft centers. A Portsmouth flat-top high chest also with hidden drawer, concave arch and similar feet is illustrated in Richard Randall, American Furniture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, (Boston, 1965), fig. 53.