Highboy (1700–1720): Art, History and Details

Highboy (1700–1720) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

One of the most notable developments in American furniture around 1700 was the introduction of "highboys" --- tall chests of drawers on high stands. These chests, often with bases having elaborately turned legs connected by a framework of stretchers, resemble closely English examples of the late 1600s during the reign of William and Mary. The decoration consists almost entirely of thin layers, or veneers, of richly patterned wood. These veneers were cut from burls (tumorlike growths on trees) and then carefully assembled and glued to create symmetrical patterns like those seen on the front of this highboy. The brass pulls on the drawers are typical of this period and may be original.

Object facts

• Title: Highboy
• Date: 1700–1720
• Culture: America, Massachusetts, William and Mary style, 18th century
• Type: Furniture and woodwork
• Technique: burled maple veneer with walnut herringbone bandings
• Dimensions: Overall: 158.4 x 94 x 52.8 cm (62 3/8 x 37 x 20 13/16 in.)
• Collection: Furniture
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1986.207

Collection credit

Gift of Gordon D. Meals and Jean F. Meals in memory of Moselle T. Meals

Further reading listed by the museum

• Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1986.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 2 (February 1987): 38–79.
• Adams, Henry. What's American about American art?: a gallery tour in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2008.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.