Newport Chest

This piece was completed in 2011. The case is Honduras Mahogany and the drawer fronts are ribbon figured African mahogany, with poplar and pine as secondary woods. This piece is a copy of the John Townsend Newport blockfront chest in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from 1765. The finish is aniline dye followed by silica grain filler, light linseed oil, several coats of garnet shellac sprayed, and then French polished with the traditional pumice and pad method. All moldings and edges were hand carved. The bracket feet are joined with a spline in the miter as well as alternating grain glue blocks. The cockbeads are integral to the drawer dividers, but are applied in a rabbet to the sides of the drawer openings. The convex shells are applied and the concave shell is integral to the top drawer.