Chest-on-Chest

Thomas Townsend

ca. 1772 · Mahogany, chestnut, tulip poplar · The American Wing

Thomas Townsend was a member of the famed Townsend-Goddard dynasty of Newport cabinetmakers and this is the only documented work by him. The raised panels above the top drawers, which echo the curves of the pediment, are characteristic of Newport manufacture. This chest-on-chest and another example from Philadelphia (1975.91) offer two elegant solutions to the challenge of integrating a scroll pediment with an architectural case.

Artist

Thomas Townsend

Date

ca. 1772

Medium

Mahogany, chestnut, tulip poplar

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of the American Wing Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Goelet Gift, Sansbury-Mills Fund, and Leigh Keno and The Hohmann Foundation Gifts, 2005