Desk on Chest
Walnut with Yellow Pine
Kentucky
Mason County
Unknown maker “Tuttle Group”
Circa\1790-1820
47” H x 40” W x 19” D
Kentucky cabinetmaking is somewhat known for its unique (quirky) forms and styles such as sugar desks, tall bandy legs, , etc. This chest represents a here- to-fore unknown variation of a chest of drawer – or variation of a desk. The desk top and interior compartments are the uppermost section of an otherwise conventional multi drawer chest and are accessed by lifting the “faux” drawer front and folding back the hinged top. It is remarkable that the drawer front and top have survived but remain intact and “as built”.
The large group of short cabriole leg case furniture found most commonly in the Mason County area was once attributed to cabinet maker Peter Tuttle who migrated from Virginia circa 1800. Numbering over sixty pieces of furniture, the group was the subject of a 1996 exhibition and catalogue which led researchers to the conclusion that several shops and cabinetmakers produced similar but distinctively different examples. The skirt, drawer and case construction and decorative elements place related very closely to an identified group although the specific cabinetmaker remains unknown.
