Chippendale Carved Cherry High Chest of Drawers

Object Details

Object Essay

Since this imposing high chest was first published in 1945, numerous early attributions of furniture related to Johannes Bachman of Lampeter Township have been disproved by John J. Snyder and reassigned to Lancaster County by Snyder and Benno M. Forman.^{1_{In Acc. No. 74.128, both upper and lower cases have been extensively restored: all four full drawers and dustboards in the upper case, including the signed drawer, have been repaired and some have been rebuilt with new drawer fronts. The drawer runners and vertical dividers in the lower case are also replacements. All three plinths, capitals, and finials were replaced by Alan Miller in 1989. Holes for the feet were drilled in each corner of the upper case. Published in American Collector 14 (November 1945), 4; Fitzgerald 1982, 138; Snyder “Lancaster,” 972–74; Snyder Philadelphia Furniture, 153–55. The “Bachman” attributions originated with Dreppard, 6–9. For revised attributions, see Snyder 1974, 1056–65; Snyder “Lancaster,” 964–75; Forman 1983, 102–70.}} In 1974, Snyder first recognized the signature on this piece as that of a member of the Lind family, who after their emigration from Scandinavia worked as joiners in Lancaster County between 1752 and 1830. It is one of only five examples of carved case furniture from Lancaster County whose makers can be identified.^{2_{For others, see Snyder “Lancaster,” 964–75.}}

Whereas its overall form reflects the dominant Anglo-American rococo style of Philadelphia, the chest’s massive proportions and elaborate relief carving on a stippled ground reflect Germanic woodworking traditions. These traditions were possibly brought from Württemberg to the Lancaster area around mid-century by members of the Sener family and adopted by other immigrant joiners such as the Linds.^{3_{See Garvan and Hummel, 96.}} According to Snyder, Lancaster Borough, the largest inland town in America by the end of the 18th century, supported more than 160 furniture-related craftsmen between 1760 and 1810. Similar carving is found on other Lancaster high chests, desk and bookcases, and dressing tables, although this chest is unusual for the asymmetry of its applied cluster of vines on the lower drawer.^{4_{For related carving on Lancaster County furniture, see Snyder 1974, figs. 1, 2; Heckscher 1985, no. 170; Scott 1979, 990; and a chest-on-chest sold at Sotheby’s, New York, Sale 5429, January 30–February 1, 1986, Lot 651.}} Other features of its construction, such as the massive bracing behind the scrolled pediment and the use of large pins to secure the framing members, reflect traditional Germanic methods applied to an English form.

Viewed collectively, the hybrid products of Lancaster’s German and English cabinetmakers and apprentices, working independently and together for urban and rural patrons from several cultures, offer an unusual glimpse of the interaction and assimilation of immigrant cultures in colonial America. The most remarkable aspect of this high chest is not the lingering presence of Germanic details, which one might expect to find in rural Lancaster County, but rather, the degree to which the northern European cabinetmaker has adopted and adapted the prevailing English furniture style of the New World. 

Thomas S. Michie

Excerpted from Clement E. Conger, et al. Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1991.