c. 1720 Eastern Massachusetts chest of drawers.
Closeup of painted detail and nailed drawer construction per the original. No dovetails on this joiner-made piece.
This wildly decorated chest of drawers was produced in Eastern Massachusetts circa 1720. It is one of the most vibrant pieces of furniture to survive until today. The original colors are quite muted given the 300 years of aging and “cleaning attempts” that have damaged the original decoration.
Working with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was able to obtain chemical analysis of the pigments used and photos of the piece’s construction details that enabled me to complete this reproduction.
All woodwork was done entirely by hand with period correct tools (with the exception of turning the foot on a powered lathe due to a self-destructed spring pole lathe). The paint is shop-made linseed oil paint which utilized the correct pigments, with the exception of the omission of lead-drived pigments and realgar due to toxicity concerns.
This was an excellent piece to construct. I truly enjoyed the woodwork but especially the painting. This is a big departure for me, I usually strive to make new things look old… not make old designs seem like they were painted yesterday.
This might not be everyone’s cup of tea… but for me it is perfect!
Zach Dillinger
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Closeup of painted detail and nailed drawer construction per the original. No dovetails on this joiner-made piece.
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You will need sunglasses if the sun catches this paint just right.
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Interior of the case.
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The original piece.
Comments
Wow! So the colors you used were like the originals? That is bright. I bet it was fun to paint. Nice job.
Hi BetsyE, thanks for the kind words. It was enjoyable to paint, but at the same time stressful because I was trying to exactly replicate the original decoration. And yes, the colors are spot on to the original per chemical analysis provided by the Met.
18th century people seemed to have liked bright colors; so many pieces of this type were originally painted in very bright ways, or were highly decorated with inlay, banding, veneer, etc. This piece was simply an attempt to approximate the look of high style William and Mary work without the original joiner having skills / tools / materials or the buyer lacking the wealth needed to have such work done.
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