“WA” Chest with Drawer

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

Furniture such as this joined, or “Hadley,” chest, can reveal information about the owners and the times in which they lived. An expensive piece of furniture, the carved chest is held together with mortise and tenon joints secured by wooden pins. Resembling a house in its construction, but with a lift top and one drawer, it was built by a craftsman called a “joiner.” The decoration of vines and leaves, carved with the aid of a template, is only on the front panels. The center panel includes the initials “WA,” believed to be for William Arms who lived from 1692 to 1774. Flat textiles were stored in chests like these and they were probably placed in the same rooms as the beds.

Related Items

Details

Item typeFurniture
Date1695–1720
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicHome Life, Household Items, Furniture
EraColonial settlement, 1620–1762
MaterialWood
Process/FormatWoodworking
Dimension detailsHeight: 34.00 in Width: 44.00 in Depth: 19.62 in
Catalog #1877.19
View this item in our curatorial database →
WA. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1877-19/. Accessed on December 6, 2024.

Please note: Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.