This chest, made in Western Massachusetts, survives with its original red and black paint. The façade is carved with a characteristic design of flat flowers and leaves. Drawer façades and panels were usually carved separately, the design laid out with a template to assure regularity. In this example the woodworker used a gouge to highlight the recessed area of the decoration. The initials probably stand for Rebecca Allis, born in 1683, in Hatfield, Massachusetts.