Document 4.4 Chest of Drawers (c. 1735–1739)

DOCUMENT 4.4 | Chest of Drawers (c. 1735–1739)

For the colonial elite, home furnishings grew more elaborateand more expensiveduring the eighteenth century. Robert Davis of Boston constructed and decorated this chest of drawers during the 1730s. It represents the “japanned” style of furniture making, in which European and American furniture makers imitated Asian lacquerwork. Colonial Boston became a major center of the japanning trade in America.

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