Chest over Drawers

Gallery 107, American Art, first floor (Johnson Gallery)

Main Building

Chest over Drawers

1792

Formerly attributed to John Bieber (American, 1768–1825) Made for Magdalena Leabelsperger (American, 1772–1844)

During the eighteenth century, huge numbers of immigrants from German-speaking Europe settled in rural counties of Pennsylvania. At a geographic and cultural remove from the English-influenced styles of Philadelphia, these settlers preferred artistic traditions from their homeland, including the decorative painting seen on this chest. One of the most elaborately ornamented examples known, the chest features hearts and stars laid out with a compass, freehand-drawn flowers, and sponged backgrounds. The construction of this chest is unusually skilled; it was probably made by the joiner John Bieber of Salisbury and Oley Townships for the twenty-year-old Magdalena Leabelsperger of Berks County in anticipation of her marriage.

Gallery 107, American Art, first floor (Johnson Gallery)

Object Details

Titles:

Chest over Drawers

Date:

1792

Artists:

Formerly attributed to John Bieber (American, 1768–1825) Made for Magdalena Leabelsperger (American, 1772–1844)

Medium:

Tulip poplar, pine, painted decoration; brass, iron

Dimensions:

53 x 30 1/2 x 24 inches (134.6 x 77.5 x 61 cm)

Classification:

Furniture/Furnishings

Credit Line:

Purchased with the Thomas Skelton Harrison Fund, the Fiske Kimball Fund, and the Joseph E. Temple Fund, 1982

Accession Number:

1982-68-1

Geography:

Made in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America Possibly made in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America

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Gallery 107, American Art, first floor (Johnson Gallery)

Main Building

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