Charles II East Devon chest

This comparatively humble chest does not share sufficient number of traits with the products of the three later seventeenth-century Exeter joiners shops to substantiate an attribution. And, one chest does not constitute a fourth workshop, although there is no doubt that one existed. This chest nevertheless shares many design traits with the products of the Dennis Shop and the Exeter joiners workshops closely aligned with it. These design elements include extensive use of a V-V-ogee moulding (the front bottom rail, side profiles of the stiles, and the top profiles of all framing members and on the inner surfaces of the rear framing members) and panels carved with quadripartite flowerhead motif contained within a lozenge with scrolled extensions. The timber, too, is characteristic of Exeter deep reddish-brown colour, rife with imperfection, and used in a parsimonious manner that reflects the depleted state of Exeter oak resources during the seventeenth century. This chest provides evidence of a more complex community of artisans working in later seventeenth-century Exeter, consisting of multiple distinct workshops linked within a larger network by social and familial ties.

Condition Notes

Losses and repairs to lid; till lost; back top rail and hinges replaced; reinforcements to back bottom rail; patches to area of keyhole.