Featured Maple & Pine Chest of Drawers

Has a little bidding war in progress on this chest of drawers, there is always one it seems that stands in the path of winning.
It's an early chest of drawers, C 1700, with side hung drawers, yellow/hard pine top & sides which is unusual for new england where most secondary woods are white pine.
Provenance: Property Approved for Deaccession by the Board of Trustees of Historic Deerfield.
You can tell it's the real deal by the way the drawer bottoms are almost touching the drawer blades and a gap at top of drawer, millions of drawer pulls over the past 3 centuries causes this.
This chest was built in the Connecticut river valley, probably Hadley Mass.
Everything seems to be there except it's paint decoration which is a peculiar compass design unique to that area.
I hope whoever wins there are plans to restore it's paint as it seems naked without it.

https://skinnerlive.auctionserver.net/view-auctions/catalog/id/561/lot/232534/



What it looked like 300 years ago with it's paint intact/ Winterthur

 

Love to have that paint back again. Otherwise, it's a beauty that won't break the bank, a least if the estimates are true.

 

Well, it's up to 2k now so I'm thinking I'll let it go. Time you get it shipped & paint restored, closer to 3k. Timed auction thru tomorrow at 7 P.M. EST. I was the only bidder a week ago, now interest has perked up as close of sale is nearing.

 

Another factor, SHIPPING! I am supposed to get my Bieber chest this week, almost a month after i won it.
Skinner on above chest has not worked out pick up yet.
Shipping has always been a pain for furniture collectors but now it's a GIANT pain, state shut down orders are not uniform which complicates things further, nevermind picking it up at sale site.

 

I have to say they really DON'T look like the SAME chest of drawers, totally not counting the paint at all....which it looks like someone must have worked hard to sand it all off!!! I mean it looks like the scrolling on the front SIDES off the sides of the drawers looks like it's carved in!! The top and top several pieces above the drawers, and bottom few pieces are different or changed, as well as the feet!!! Also a question, @James Conrad, what do you call the current style of feet on that chest now? Can't say as I've seen some like that before??? Thanks!!!

 

Well, It's the same form exactly, a good chance built by the same shop in Hadley Mass. The moldings are a bit different between the 2 chests, the feet are turned, the painted chest is not carved, at all, it's just paint. The painting on the stiles do give an illusion of carving but that is all it is, an illusion in paint.
You are see what PAINT can do?, Completely change the piece from ho hum to spectacular!
Deerfield has several of these chest of drawers, probably why they are selling this one. Here is what they say about the form & photo of one the chests they are keeping.
http://museums.fivecolleges.edu/det...ects&type=all&f=&s=chest+of+drawers&record=98

"Chest of drawers in hard pine and maple with molded-edged plain top; over four graduated drawers with early but not original brasses and chamfering all around the interior sides; plain sides with moldings; over a molded base and four turned legs. It was likely originally painted and/or decorated. According to family tradition, this chest descended in the Hawks family who attributed it to Eliezer Hawks (1655-1727) of Deerfield. This, however, is unlikely. There is a possibility that John Hawks (1643-1721), Eliezer's brother, the joiner-carpenter believed to be a maker of carved Hadley chests, made this plainer type. John lived in Deerfield from 1680 to around 1704 when his wife and daughter were killed in the 1704 raid. A family member took the chest before the auction of the belongings of Susan B. Hawks (1883-1946) in 1946. Ms. Hawks was a Sheldon descendent who last owned the Sheldon House before it was bought by Henry N. Flynt (1893-1970) in 1946. She had an antiques business in the house where she sold many locally-obtained pieces, so this chest may be in fact a family piece, or possibly one purchased from a local family. The chest ended up in a Vermont antique shop where it was bought for HD. This chest is similar to other chests made in the Deerfield area such as 0383 and 1195."

This chest has lost it's paint decoration as well.

 

And thank you for that!!!

 

Here are a couple more photos of chest for sale, note the feet are just turned at end of stile/leg.
Click to enlarge

Side hung drawer, Note traces of red paint the paint stripper missed!

Back, note the feet

Top in Hard Pine, unusual for NE, common on southern work

Side, panel in Hard/Yellow Pine

 

A couple of more famous painted examples from this same area. It is compass designed and rather peculiar & unique to this area, very distinctive and i think attractive. Almost a modern art type quality to the painted decoration.

SW chest



Hannah Barnard Court Cupboard/restored



Unrestored/overpainted

 

On a sad note, when i had visions of winning this chest i started looking around for painters to restore this chest.
Ned Hipp, a nationally known furniture restorer/painter passed away April 8th 2020, he was 84 years old & lived/worked in Bethania NC. He did furniture restorations for
Old Salem & MESDA among others.
RIP Ned Hipp.

 

There can't be many left who could do an excellent paint restoration of this type.

 

ALL GREAT information from you, as your explanations are always thorough!! Thank you again James!! If I absolutely HAD to have one of the last two chests, it would be the restored lower one.....nice job! And sorry you lost one of your favorite restorers....

 

Killer cupboard, no doubt! It's at the Henry Ford Museum, somehow, i don't think they are gonna be parting with that example any time soon.
It was restored in the 1990s, not that long ago. Chipstone did an article on the restoration in 2009. Big job and thankfully new tools & technology have come forth to open up a new world in painted objects.
http://www.chipstone.org/article.ph...nical-Investigation-of-their-Paint-and-Finish

"The early polychromy (3 or more colors) was completely obscured by at least eight alternating layers of degraded plant resin varnish (such as copal, amber, mastic or sandarac), dirt, shellac, and two layers of dark repaint sandwiched between the varnish layers. On top of this thick accumulation of darkened material was a distinct sludge layer of degraded oil—the result of decades of applications of the linseed oil, vinegar and turpentine dressing."

Photo of Susan Buck removing the FINAL layer of crud

 

WOW!!!! JUST PLAIN....WOW!!!! AND....there's those tiny Q-tips again!!!! THAT in itself, mean "painstaking"!!!!!!!

 

Indeed, not a lazy Saturday morning project for sure.

 

Susan Buck does know historic paint. We have a house in the historic district of our old new england town. It had been all white for as long as anyone could remember. But when we bought it, badly in need of repainting, I decided to check for original paint colors to restore it properly. I hired Susan Buck, who was in the Boston area then, who took samples and produced a paint analysis for us. Luckily there was an area on the north facing wall that had all layers of paint on it. So now its back to original colors, probably until it is sold to the next owner who will want it all white again...

 

The chest that started this thread is now up to 3k on 28 bids with 3 hours to go. Obviously this chest has been identified as in the same family of it's more famous paint decorated examples built in the Connecticut river valley. It's an important piece of early americana.
The bidder who bested me is now in a struggle with someone else...........

 

I am not following you, which colors? Where? who done it?!