A William and Mary line-and-berry-inlaid walnut chest of drawers, Chester County, Pennsylvania 1720-1740

appears to retain its original bright-cut hardware; rich brown color. Possibly lacking foot facings.

This chest of drawers is richly ornamented with a craft tradition practiced exclusively in Chester County, Pennsylvania from the 1690s to the 1790s by the rural English, Welsh, and Dutch Quaker joiners and cabinetmakers who settled in that area. Termed from the classic motif of undulating vines terminating in three round berries, this distinct surface decoration was laid out with a compass in a system of lines, arcs and solid shapes. It is found on furniture in a variety of styles and forms, the most prevalent being chests of drawers, spice boxes and Bible boxes (Lee Ellen Griffith, “Line and Berry Inlaid Furniture: A Regional Craft Tradition in Pennsylvania, 1682-1790,” dissertation for the University of Pennsylvania, 1988, 1-4).

The sophisticated pattern covering the surface of this chest also appears on a chest of drawers in the collection of the Chester County Historical Society (see Margaret Schiffer, Furniture and Its Makers of Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1978, no. 127). Similar volute and berry inlay appears on a gateleg table owned by James Bartram (1701-1770/1) and his wife Elizabeth that sold in these rooms, Important America, January 16-19, 2003, sale 7865, lot 564. It can also be found on a gateleg table and Bible box at the Chester County Historical Society illustrated in Schiffer, nos. 122 and 127.  An additional related chest is in the Bybee Collection (see Jonathan Fairbanks and Elizabeth Bates, American Furniture, 1620 to the Present, New York, 1981, p. 49).