Description: Red painted, joined, frame-and-panel chest with a four-panel facade. The top rail on the front of the chest is carved with the letters "I" and "P," which are likely the initials of Joshua Pomeroy (1646-1689). The sides are framed to contain two panels; the back of the chest contains 2 panels. The bottom of the chest is comprised of a single board, which is cut at the corners to accomodate the shape of the legs and is secured to the underside of the chest with wooden pegs. The five-sided corner stiles extend below the case to form the feet, and are ornamented with triple-groove scatch moldings. The lid is composed of a single board that is secured to the chest with two snipe hinges. There is evidence that triangular-shaped strap hinges once secured the lid to the case. The lid is likely a later replacement as are the cleats at the opposite ends of the board. The chest survives with much of its paint chronology intact. Joshua Pomeroy (1646-1689) moved to Deerfield from Windsor in the 1670s and married Abigail Cook in 1677. He was active in the affairs of the town, serving on the first board of selectmen. When he died in Deerfield in 1689, his estate inventory included three chests (one priced at 4 shillings and the other two at 3 shillings each). Aaron Cook (1614-1690) of Windsor, CT, and Northampton, MA, probably trained Pomeroy as a woodworker; Aaron was also the uncle of Pomeroy's wife, Abigail. It is also possible that Pomeroy trained with Nathaniel Cook, Sr., a Windsor, CT, based woodworker, who was the father of his wife, Abigail.
Link to share this object record: https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2024.27 |