Chest

Object Name:

Chest

Object ID:

1946.022

Creator:

Hobbs, Morris

Place of Origin:

Hampton, NH

Date:

1675-1705

Description:

Six-board chest, mid-17th century, which belonged to, and is believed to have been made by, joiner Morris Hobbs (1615-1706) of Hampton, NH, who came to New Hampshire in the early 17th century from England. Made of white pine boards, joined with rosehead nails. Top board rests on chest. Carved keyhole present (no hardware). Chest decorated with scratch carvings, a.k.a. "line carving," on the front board only. Decoration is divided into four vertical sections; decorations are created by use of compass. The main portion across the middle includes four large circles, each overlapped with a diamond, and a six-petalled flower. At the corners of each point of the diamonds are small punched circles. One of the circle/diamond/flower sections has been largely obliterated by the loss of a layer of wood on the front right side. Above the circles is a design of overlapping arches; each arch is made up of three concentric lines.
Typed label glued to left end of chest: "A 1640 chest owned by Morris Hobbs carpenter. Scratch carving in design [found] on type of chest that originated in Hampton. This is the original chest from which one in the Metropolitan Museum and the one in the Antiquarian Society, Concord, Mass. with similar design were copied."

Material:

Wood
Pine
Iron

Dimensions:

H-20 W-54.5 D-19 inches

Provenance:

Chest is believed to have been made by Morris Hobbs (1615-1706), who emigrated from England to America in the early 17th century. It is believed to have been made in Hampton, NH, where Hobbs resided. Donor is a descendant of the Hobbs family, through her mother's line.

Only two other Hobbs chests are known to be in existence, one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the other in the Concord, MA, Antiquarian Society. Experts agree that this chest given by Ms. Eloise L. Smith is the one that served as a model for the others.

Credit Line:

Gift of Eloise Lane Smith

People:

Hobbs, Morris (c. 1615-1706), Smith, Eloise Lane

Subjects:

Storage furniture