An American Federal Walnut Inlaid Sugar Chest, c. 1800-1815, East Tennessee, the paneled top opening to an interior fitted with three divided compartments, the chest constructed with blind front dovetails and decorated with cut-corner inlay over a molded lower section containing two graduated inlaid drawers, the distinctively inlaid stiles ending in tapering square legs, height 35 3/4 in., width 32 1/2 in., depth 19 in. Note: Derived from Georgian bottle cabinets or cellarettes, sugar chests were a specialized form in regions of the Southern backcountry where, before the advent of steamboats, sugar was imported from New Orleans with difficulty. The presence of a sugar chest in a Lexington or Nashville household signified its prosperity, and regional cabinetmakers modified a familiar dining room form to store and display a prestigious commodity. Reference: The blind-dovetail construction and usage of restrained inlay in this example can be found in other pieces of Federal furniture from East Tennessee. See Williams and Harsh, The Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture, pp. 73, 77, 89 and 138. A discussion of the evolution and use of sugar chests may be found in: Mc Pherson “...Sugar Chests in Middle Tennessee and Central Kentucky”, The Journal of Southern Decorative Arts, Winter 1997, and also Hicks and Caldwell, “A Short History of the Tennessee Sugar Chest”, Magazine Antiques, September 2003