A PAINTED PINE CHEST

This chest belongs to a small group New York German painted pine chests from counties surrounding the city of Albany. The construction of chests from this region is simple, using six boards and a bracket base with nailed moldings. By contrast, the elaborate painted decoration is the distinctive feature that enables us to ascribe them to this particular region. The present lot shares a variety of features with several examples from the Albany area (Mary Antoine de Julio "New York-German Painted Chests" The Magazine Antiques (May, 1985), pp. 1156-1165). Flanked by bellflowers and rondelles, the present lot is closely related to a painted pine chest in private collection (fig. 1). The decoration of the present lot, along with the date and initials, allows us to ascribe it to this distinctive regional school.