Of unusually large scale, the chest features five long graduated drawers within the main case and is raised on a separate stand. Standing nearly 50 inches tall, it possesses proportions rarely encountered in English furniture of the period. The richly figured mahogany veneers are exceptionally well chosen, with excellent color throughout. The chest survives in remarkably original condition and retains its gilt-brass drawer pulls and key escutcheons.

I like it when a familiar form gets pushed just far enough to become something else. In this case, the scale does the work: it takes a familiar chest of drawers and turns it into something almost monumental, architectural even. I feel a real connection to Ince & Mayhew here—I understand exactly what they were trying to achieve.

PROVENANCE
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States (deaccessioned 2013).