Jan & John Maggs
Antiques and Art
A Welsh 2- over 3-drawer chest with applied moulding
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A beautiful Jacobean chest with a narrow, detailed moulding applied to the drawer faces in varied geometric shapes. Eight round drop pulls allow the drawers to slide open or shut effortlessly. The joined frame features fielded single-panel sides, a two-board top, and a five-board back. The latter is unfinished, in the fashion of the period.
The upper and lower full drawers are fitted with a locks, while the small drawers and the middle long one are not, providing a good example of an economic convention of the time. The drawers without metal locks, which needed to be purchased and were relatively costly when compared to the charges of the village joiner, were locked shut by a wooden stick attached to the drawer bottom, which would drop below the drawer bottom and hit the front rail, keeping the drawer from being pulled out. Access to these drawers was obtained by unlocking and opening the drawer beneath and pushing the wooden stick up allowing the drawer to be slid open. These wooden pieces are rarely found, due no doubt to the frustration they caused, especially when security became less of a domestic issue.
The chest is in fine condition, with good color and lots of convenience.
Britain, probably Wales, ca. 1680
Width: 39 ½”; Height: 39 ½”; Depth: 24”
Price: $1650
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Inventory #27197
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