Blanket chest

From collection Furniture

Blanket chest

The oldest piece of furniture in Preservation Long Island’s collection, this blanket chest has a history of ownership in the Hedges family. Hailing from England by way of Lynn, Massachusetts, the Hedges were among the first Europeans to settle in East Hampton in the early 1650s, bringing with them ideas about how furniture should look and how their homes should be furnished. This chest was probably one of a small number of pieces that filled the Hedges’s seventeenth-century home. Its stylized and shallow-carved floral stems, arches, and lunettes are typical of both England and New England furniture from the period, and are directly related to a series of chests made in or associated with New Haven Colony. Most woodworkers who came to New England brought with them knowledge of regional English furniture styles and the technology necessary to recreate them. These craftsmen then trained others, leading to the development of local shop traditions; in this case, one that extended from Connecticut across the Long Island Sound.

Details

Blanket chest
Oak 
Pine 
24.75 x 60 x 22.25 in.
Oak and pine paneled blanket chest; framework joined with double pinned mortise and tenons, two panels set on front and back, one set on either side, four panels set in hinged lift top; floral stems, arches, and lunettes shallow carved into framework and front panels; traces of green, yellow, black, and red paint throughout.
History of ownership in the Hedges family of East Hampton, NY
1975.2
Preservation Long Island purchase