Figure 21 Base of a chest
of drawers or cupboard, northern Essex County, Massachusetts, 1681. Oak
and maple with oak and sycamore. H. 44 1/8", W. 47", D. 22 1/4".
(Courtesy, Harvard University.) The back and bottom boards, which constitute
all of the surviving secondary wood, are water-sawn sycamore. The vertical
back boards are set in grooves in the top rail and stiles and nailed to
an inner lower rail. The pendants, small turned bosses, and
half-columns on the overhanging stiles are replacements, whereas the half-columns
on the door and stiles are original. The planed edge moldings on the lower
rails are also period, indicating that the case never had an applied base
molding. |