American, Late 18th century. Important Church family Queen Anne cherry highboy or high chest of drawers in two parts, possibly Wethersfield School, the upper case having a flat top over an arrangement of four small drawers and an upper central drawer fronted by a carved fan over four long graduated drawers, the lower case with short deep drawers flanking a fan carved deep drawer over a scalloped apron raised on cabriole legs terminating in pad feet. The drawer arrangement and detailed fan carving is traditional to the Wethersfield, CT school (Connecticut Valley Furniture, by Thomas Kugelman, 2005). Height 70", width 39.5", depth 19". Provenance: This highboy was the property of Oliver K. Church and features a history of ownership by the Church Family of Hartford, Connecticut and Middlefield, Massachusetts. All of the Middlefield families by the name of Church were descendants of Richard Church, the emigrant ancestor who in the 1630s was one of the early settlers of Hartford, Connecticut. Throughout the 19th century, the Church families were involved in the manufacture of woolen textiles in the mills of Factory Village of Middlefield, Massachusetts. The owner of this highboy has traced her Church family tree through the past two and a half centuries. (A History of the Town of Middlefield, Massachusetts, by Edward Church Smith, 1924 and A Modern History of New London County, Connecticut, by Benjamin Marshall, 1922). Until recently, this high chest had been housed in the infamous "The Big House" built in 1869, located in Middlefield Massachusetts (see photo #10).

Structurally sound. Wear to pad feet, so there is a slight wobble. Wear is commensurate with age & usage. Some areas of sun bleaching & post-original staining to finish. Areas of minor surface touch ups. Minor scuffing to knees on cabriole legs. Pulls are a later addition. Visible locks are only a decorative element.