Chest of Drawers
1660-1675 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Design
Chest of drawers, caved walnut, with elm lid and oak drawer-linings. The lid opening on two pointed iron strap hinges has edge mouldings fitted over the sides of a box-top, with fluted frieze in front and at the sides. Three drawers, each with two turned handles, handle-plates in the form of a ring with large tulip-shaped devices on either side and small trefoils above and below, carved in low flat relief in imitation of ironwork plates. At each end sunken panels containing diamond shaped bolection mouldings. Moulded skirting below a border of fluting. Four square feet. Box-top and drawers lined with white lining papers printed from wooden blocks in black, with a design of leafy stems, grape-bunches and flowers, and including, on the underside of the lid, paired ovals containing a shield of the Royal Arms, as borne by Charles II, and bordered with the garter motto 'Honi Soit Qui Mal Pense'. The printed pattern has much in common with English embroidery patterns of the period.
Construction
This piece is mid 17th century. It has dulled top joints. The drawer bottoms are nailed except for groove. The tongue is stepped at the bottom, not at the top. There are scarfed joints in bottom of the drawers. The drawer back, sides and bottom are most likely ash. The front appears to be oak with applied carving. The lock is a later fitting (the lining paper stops short of the lock and the lock itself is open sided. In assessing if the lining paper is original or not, it covers the hinges so is no older than the hinges and appears to be earlier than the nail holes. The hinges do not look very old and on the outside one of the screw heads is covered with filler. The back board is recessed at the top to receive each hinge. The front and side fluted friezes, moulding around the rising top and some of the mouldings below and at the side are walnut. The top horizontally grained section at the back is oak, the lower three vertically grained are walnut, indicating that this was replaced. The top and middle boards have pronounced saw marks whilst the left hand board has less pronounced saw marks with overlaying curved saw marks. These boards are fixed into place tongue and groove and all three lower boards are screw nailed to the upper board. The left and middle lower boards have slightly chamfered top edges but the right board does not, but does show tool marks running off upper edge which suggests that this piece was cut down. Inside the carcass the face of ash (?) backboard is rail tenon and pegged but much less oxidised. Both the style and rail look fresh but are conceivably original. The rail is stained on the outside and tenon and pegged to backboard. The top of the backstyle has been cut away to allow the lid to open 180 degrees. Both back legs have been patched at the feet.
The drawers hang on battons.
Chest of drawers, caved walnut, with elm lid and oak drawer-linings. The lid opening on two pointed iron strap hinges has edge mouldings fitted over the sides of a box-top, with fluted frieze in front and at the sides. Three drawers, each with two turned handles, handle-plates in the form of a ring with large tulip-shaped devices on either side and small trefoils above and below, carved in low flat relief in imitation of ironwork plates. At each end sunken panels containing diamond shaped bolection mouldings. Moulded skirting below a border of fluting. Four square feet. Box-top and drawers lined with white lining papers printed from wooden blocks in black, with a design of leafy stems, grape-bunches and flowers, and including, on the underside of the lid, paired ovals containing a shield of the Royal Arms, as borne by Charles II, and bordered with the garter motto 'Honi Soit Qui Mal Pense'. The printed pattern has much in common with English embroidery patterns of the period.
Construction
This piece is mid 17th century. It has dulled top joints. The drawer bottoms are nailed except for groove. The tongue is stepped at the bottom, not at the top. There are scarfed joints in bottom of the drawers. The drawer back, sides and bottom are most likely ash. The front appears to be oak with applied carving. The lock is a later fitting (the lining paper stops short of the lock and the lock itself is open sided. In assessing if the lining paper is original or not, it covers the hinges so is no older than the hinges and appears to be earlier than the nail holes. The hinges do not look very old and on the outside one of the screw heads is covered with filler. The back board is recessed at the top to receive each hinge. The front and side fluted friezes, moulding around the rising top and some of the mouldings below and at the side are walnut. The top horizontally grained section at the back is oak, the lower three vertically grained are walnut, indicating that this was replaced. The top and middle boards have pronounced saw marks whilst the left hand board has less pronounced saw marks with overlaying curved saw marks. These boards are fixed into place tongue and groove and all three lower boards are screw nailed to the upper board. The left and middle lower boards have slightly chamfered top edges but the right board does not, but does show tool marks running off upper edge which suggests that this piece was cut down. Inside the carcass the face of ash (?) backboard is rail tenon and pegged but much less oxidised. Both the style and rail look fresh but are conceivably original. The rail is stained on the outside and tenon and pegged to backboard. The top of the backstyle has been cut away to allow the lid to open 180 degrees. Both back legs have been patched at the feet.
The drawers hang on battons.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Chest of drawers, English, late 17th century. |
| Physical description | Design Chest of drawers, caved walnut, with elm lid and oak drawer-linings. The lid opening on two pointed iron strap hinges has edge mouldings fitted over the sides of a box-top, with fluted frieze in front and at the sides. Three drawers, each with two turned handles, handle-plates in the form of a ring with large tulip-shaped devices on either side and small trefoils above and below, carved in low flat relief in imitation of ironwork plates. At each end sunken panels containing diamond shaped bolection mouldings. Moulded skirting below a border of fluting. Four square feet. Box-top and drawers lined with white lining papers printed from wooden blocks in black, with a design of leafy stems, grape-bunches and flowers, and including, on the underside of the lid, paired ovals containing a shield of the Royal Arms, as borne by Charles II, and bordered with the garter motto 'Honi Soit Qui Mal Pense'. The printed pattern has much in common with English embroidery patterns of the period. Construction This piece is mid 17th century. It has dulled top joints. The drawer bottoms are nailed except for groove. The tongue is stepped at the bottom, not at the top. There are scarfed joints in bottom of the drawers. The drawer back, sides and bottom are most likely ash. The front appears to be oak with applied carving. The lock is a later fitting (the lining paper stops short of the lock and the lock itself is open sided. In assessing if the lining paper is original or not, it covers the hinges so is no older than the hinges and appears to be earlier than the nail holes. The hinges do not look very old and on the outside one of the screw heads is covered with filler. The back board is recessed at the top to receive each hinge. The front and side fluted friezes, moulding around the rising top and some of the mouldings below and at the side are walnut. The top horizontally grained section at the back is oak, the lower three vertically grained are walnut, indicating that this was replaced. The top and middle boards have pronounced saw marks whilst the left hand board has less pronounced saw marks with overlaying curved saw marks. These boards are fixed into place tongue and groove and all three lower boards are screw nailed to the upper board. The left and middle lower boards have slightly chamfered top edges but the right board does not, but does show tool marks running off upper edge which suggests that this piece was cut down. Inside the carcass the face of ash (?) backboard is rail tenon and pegged but much less oxidised. Both the style and rail look fresh but are conceivably original. The rail is stained on the outside and tenon and pegged to backboard. The top of the backstyle has been cut away to allow the lid to open 180 degrees. Both back legs have been patched at the feet. The drawers hang on battons. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by the late Mr B. Copinger Pritchard |
| Object history | Notes from RP 41/531: Bequest from the late B. Copinger Prichard, Per Messers Phillips Cummings & Ashton, 22-23 Lawrence Poutney Lane. Condition upon acquisition "Chipped, rubbed, and worn, lining papers torn, worn and faded". Prichard had a house at 18 St Petersburgh Place, London W2 but evidently a country home as well. In 1930 he proposed leaving a substantial collection of 18th C. furniture to the V & A but nothing came of this. He died childless in 1941. Mr Edwards, then working at the V & A, was Prichard's nephew. Edwards comments "I presume this chest has been brought up from the country" (to St Petersburgh Place) "as 18 St Petersburgh Place had been emptied of its contents". Minute by Edwards on "Mr Coppinger Pritchard's XVIII century furniture" published in Country Life Vol lxii, 1927 p.177-181 Notes that the chest if an exception to the generally 18th C. date of most of Prichard's collection. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.8:1-1941 |
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| Record created | February 15, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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