Chest-Over-Drawer

<p>This chest belongs to a group of furniture attributed to drum maker and joiner Robert Crosman, who likely learned the furniture-making trade from family members. The piece's simple plank construction is characteristic of Crosman's work. Although the flat top is undecorated, a white tree with ocher leaves and red flowering buds, and four birds surround the initials &quot;H B&quot; on the central panel. Early painted chests were likely made for young women as dowry vessels. The inclusion of women's initials on chests, as well as the use of a decorative vocabulary that bespeaks fertility and prosperity, supports this long-standing view. The initials on known Crosman chests are thought to be those of his sitters and other women in his family; the initials on this chest could be those of Hannah Blake, a relative of Crosman's second wife.</p>