Southern, probably Southern or Eastern Virginia, 1680-1730
Black walnut and yellow pine with oak
Catalog no. 104
Few southern chests from the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries survive, yet probate records suggest they were once common. The six-board chest shown here is an early, and one of the most basic, examples of the form. The case is nailed together at the corners, and the feet are downward extensions of the side panels.
Although the chest appears to be devoid of ornamentation, a close examination reveals subtle decorative features. Most of the chest is made of plentiful, inexpensive, and unpainted yellow pine, but the two-piece front is black walnut, a more costly material. The chest is embellished with scratch beading on the lid and a finely executed molding at the bottom edge of the case. Production of the chest in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century is suggested by the minimal tool kit used to build it. Physical evidence indicates the use of only four tools—a saw, plane, adze, and hammer.