Chest-on-Chest

Attributed toWorkshop of Nathaniel Gould (American, 1734 - 1782)

Dateca. 1760

MediumMahogany and white pine with brass

DimensionsOverall: 91 × 44 1/2 × 22 7/8 inches (231.14 × 113.03 × 58.09 cm)
A (top): 50 3/4 × 43 1/2 × 22 1/4 inches (128.91 × 110.49 × 56.52 cm)
B (bottom): 41 1/8 × 44 1/2 × 22 7/8 inches (104.46 × 113.03 × 58.1 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number34-123 A,B

Markingsnone

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts

Terms

Gallery Label

While possessing English characteristics, the chest-on-chest developed in the Colonies as an identifiable piece of American furniture. Made with separate upper and lower sections for easy movement, chests provided important storage in homes. Although the form is conventional, the construction and details of this chest are distinctive. The chest's elegant curving contours, described as bombé (meaning to bulge outward in French), were technically difficult and costly to execute, thus marking this piece as a rare and superlative example, probably from the shop of Nathaniel Gould, one of Salem's leading 18th-century cabinetmakers. The fluted pilasters along the sides, the pediment's pinwheel rosettes and the base's realistically carved shell exemplify refined woodworking skills.

Provenance

Probably Mark Hunkington Wenworth, 1764 [1];

Dr. Gideon L. Soule (1796-1879), Head of Philips Exeter 1838-1873;

By descent to Judge Augustus L. Soule (1827-1887), Supreme Court of Massachusetts;

By descent to unknown heir;

Sold to Benjamin Flayderman;

Sold at Rare American Antiques: The Flayderman Collection, Fifty-Seventh Street Auction Galleries, Inc., New York, (Frederick H. Wandell, auctioneer), January 25-27, 1934, lot 580;

With Ginsburg & Levy, New York by 1934;

Purchased through Ginsburg & Levy, New York by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1934.

NOTES:

[1] [See: Kemble Widmer and Joyce King. In Plain Sight: Discovering the Furniture of Nathanial Gould. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem with D. Giles Limited, London, 2014, pg. 110.]

Published References

“Flayderman Antiques in Notable Sale,” The Art News (January, 1934): 18.

“PROWLINGS”, Boston Transcript, (May 5, 1934): [unpaginated] “clipping (xerox) NAMA curatorial files.”

Rare American Antiques: Flayderman Collection, (New York: Fifty-Seventh Street Galleries, Inc.. 1934), 113.

Kemble Widmer and Joyce King. “The Documentary and Artistic Legacy of Nathaniel Gould,” American Furniture, (Milwaukee, WI: Chipstone Foundation, 2008): 9, (repro.).

Kemble Widmer and Joyce King. “The Cabots of Salem & Beverly: A Fondness for the Bonbe Form,” Antiques and Fine Art (Spring 2010), 173, (repro.).

Kemble Widmer and Joyce King. In Plain Sight: Discovering the Furniture of Nathanial Gould. Salem and London: Peabody Essex Museum, with D. Giles Limited, 2014): 111, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.