High Chest of Drawers
Artist unknown (American, 18th century)
- Maker
- Artist unknown (American, 18th century)
- Date
- 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.)
- Form
- Case Piece
- Origin
- Salem
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Accession
- 1987.11
- Credit line
- Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society through the Mrs. Edgar J. Uihlein Fund
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.