A Queen Anne Maple High Chest of Drawers, Rhode Island circa 1765

Appears to retain its original hardware. Retains a dark old historic surface.

Christie's, New York, Important American Furniture, Silver, Folk Art and Decorative Arts, June 21, 1995, sale 8208, lot 218;
Leigh Keno American Antiques;
A private New York collection

The secondary woods are white pine, poplar, and chestnut; there is a 8 ¼ inch patch to drawer lip on proper right small drawer on lower case; there is a 2 inch diagonal patch to drawer lip on proper left drawer in lower case. Retains an old finish. Two brasses on upper case top drawer and center short drawer are replacements. Repairs to right corner of upper case drawer two, three and five. Interior of upper case bottom long drawer surface has cracked area 1 ½" x 2". Repair & small loss ¾" x 1" to dovetail at lower right corner of upper case. Left deep short drawer upper edge replaced, also chip loss to top right corner measuring 1 ¼" x 3/16"; Horizontal crack measuring 2 ¼" to front section of apron edge extending to lower right corner of left short drawer. Right rear foot repair shaved on back three-quarters with original piece secured with a screw. Also areas of drawer lip repairs.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This high chest of drawers is distinguished by its overall scale and use of harmoniously proportioned drawers.  It displays many characteristics that are distinctive of the furniture and the shop traditions of Newport, Rhode Island.  Among the more prominent features include the cyma-curved skirt and peaked cabriole legs with narrow knee brackets ending in slipper feet. 

Three related high chests sharing the same form but with a variation of the drawer arrangement include a walnut high chest by Christopher Townsend of Newport included in The John Brown House Loan Exhibition of Rhode Island Furniture^1; and two mahogany examples illustrated in Michael Moses, Master Craftsmen of Newport: The Townsends and the Goddards.²

A maple chest-on-frame in the Bybee Collection³ also shares a similar form, however, it has no drawers in the lower section. A brown wash was applied to the maple to resemble mahogany. Chests-on-frame represent a middle range of Newport case pieces, produced for the local middle-class market, for wealthy patrons and also for export. As exemplified by the present high chest, the legs are continuous from top to bottom and are tenoned into the skirt rails.  Additionally, both examples have a medial cross-brace dovetailed to the front and back skirt rails.

¹  The John Brown House Loan Exhibition of Rhode Island Furniture, (The Rhode Island Historical Society, 1965), exhibition catalogue, fig 57, pp.86-87.
²  Michael Moses, Master Craftsmen of Newport:  The Townsends and Goddards, (Tenafly, NJ:  MMI American Press, 1984), figs. 1.20 and 1.24, pp. 37 and 40.
³  Charles L. Venable, American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, (Austin, Texas: the University of Texas Press, 1989), cat. 7, pp. 16-18.