High Chest of Drawers
Artist unknown
1750–70
Medium
Mahogany with white pine, cedar, and brass
Dimensions
153.7 × 67.3 × 36.5 cm (60 1/2 × 26 1/2 × 14 3/8 in.)
Classification
case furniture
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
111280
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Small-scale case furniture is rare. Too large to have served as a cabinetmaker’s model and lacking locks on the drawers to protect valuables, the piece was made for use by a child. The high chest bears an 18th-century inscription in one of the small drawers that identifies it as the one in which the young owner, Sally King of Salem, kept her clothing. Born in Salem in 1783, Sally King was likely the second owner of the chest.