Tidewater Virginia, 1680-1710
Black walnut with yellow pine and tulip poplar
Catalog no. 148
This early cupboard may be a Virginia interpretation of the French buffet bas, or low cupboard, that was widely produced in rural France. French Huguenots probably introduced the form to the colony. It is also possible that the cupboard reflects English furniture traditions. Early English chests of drawers were fitted with doors akin to these, although here the internal drawers were omitted.
Like most early joined case furniture, this cupboard consists of riven or hand-split panels set within a boxlike mortised-and-tenoned framework. The drawer was primarily assembled with nails, but there is also a large single dovetail at the front end of each side. The dovetails suggest that the maker was familiar with the latest urban British joinery techniques. The drawer is supported on rails that are nailed to the interior of the case and correspond to grooves cut into each drawer side. This is the only known piece of early southern case furniture that retains an original side-hung drawer.