Chest of Drawers
Artist:
Unknown
General region:Texas
Culture: Brazos County, Texas
Date: ca. 1860
Medium: Walnut
Dimensions:
h. 39 in. (99.1 cm); w. 48 in. (121.9 cm); d. 22 7/8 in. (58.1 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Faith and Charles Bybee
Object number: 92.60.2
Label Text
This chest has a molding embellishment surrounding the drawers, wooden keyhole escutcheons, and walnut dividers in the top drawer. It has a history of ownership at the Astin plantation, Brazos County.
As settlers flocked to Texas during its incarnations as a republic and then a state, the need for furniture grew along with the population. The cost of importing furniture from other parts of the United States or Europe was prohibitive; thus, 19th century Texans often designed and built to suit their own needs, relying especially on the influx of craftsmen from Germany. Although the forms of Texas furniture closely resemble case and seating furniture used elsewhere, they are made of woods native to the state such as pine and walnut, and are embellished with less expensive decorations, such as simpler porcelain pulls for drawers. The objects on view were once owned by Houstonian Faith L. Bybee, a passionate collector of American furniture and decorative arts who embraced the styles of her native state as well as examples of design from the Eastern Seaboard.
(Texas Gallery, 2018)
As settlers flocked to Texas during its incarnations as a republic and then a state, the need for furniture grew along with the population. The cost of importing furniture from other parts of the United States or Europe was prohibitive; thus, 19th century Texans often designed and built to suit their own needs, relying especially on the influx of craftsmen from Germany. Although the forms of Texas furniture closely resemble case and seating furniture used elsewhere, they are made of woods native to the state such as pine and walnut, and are embellished with less expensive decorations, such as simpler porcelain pulls for drawers. The objects on view were once owned by Houstonian Faith L. Bybee, a passionate collector of American furniture and decorative arts who embraced the styles of her native state as well as examples of design from the Eastern Seaboard.
(Texas Gallery, 2018)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
