John Keith Russell

Extremely rare, the Shaker blanket chest with an underhung drawer is a highly sought-after twist on an iconic Shaker design made by the skilled cabinetmakers of the Harvard, Massachusetts community. There are only a handful of chests with underhung drawers known. What differentiates this piece is that the drawer was incorporated into the original design, whereas other underhung drawers were added later. ¶ Pine, retaining an old or original orange stain and varnish surface. This refined take on a classic early-American form represents an evolution in design with the underhung drawer being an unequivocally Shaker addition. The blanket box went from being a box, to a box with a lid, to a box with a lid and a drawer, and finally, to a chest elevated off the ground on, in this case, a dovetailed applied bracket base. Always conscious of practicality and efficiency, the Shakers added the lower drawer underneath the chest—easily removed to facilitate cleaning. ¶ Publication: Timothy D. Rieman, The Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing), 2003.