Images(5)

Blanket Chest

Date1790-1810

Possibly by Elijah Cross

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Valley of Virgina or Tennessee, Sullivan County

MediumBlack walnut, tulip poplar, holly (probably), and iron

DimensionsOverall: 22 1/2 × 41 × 18 1/2in. (57.2 × 104.1 × 47cm)

Credit LineGift of Preservation Virginia

Object number2025-106

DescriptionRectangular blanket chest with iron strap hinges; top has applied molding around front and sides; front of chest dovetailed to sides with wedged dovetails; sides half-blind dovetailed to back; integral base molding and bracket feet attached to lower edge of front and sides, rear brackets nailed to rabbet in rear, side bracket feet; till inside chest across proper right end with hinged lid; iron lock mortised into rear of front board and center top with inlaid light wood diamond keyhole escutcheon on front; front of chest inlaid with light wood string outlining front with incurving corners with loops; inlaid urn or flower pot in center of chest from which emanates three scrolled vines with leaves; center vine ascends upward towards top where it splits into two with single flower at ends, "R" and "H" inlaid above the vine with a crescent between them; two other vines scroll from flowerpot towards sides, joining at each end to a watering can/flower pot from which a vertical scrolled vine ascends and terminates in a single flower. Walnut primary wood with tulip poplar back, bottom board, till, and rear foot brackets. Sides and bottom board of two boards joined on internal or bottom facades with butterfly keys.Label TextThis chest was owned by a southwest Virginia collector in the early to mid 20th century. Inscribed inside the backboard of the chest during construction was the name "Elijah Cross" and “This Chest” (or possibly "His Chest"). The man may have been one of the Elijah Crosses living in the region of Sulivan County, Tennesese in the late-18th or early-19th century, just over the state line from southwest Virginia. Elijah Cross Sr. (1758-1832), his son Elijah Cross Jr. (1791-1843) and his grandson (son of David Looney Cross), Elijah Cross (1823-1893) were all men of the correct name, although the last man probably would not have been the maker of this chest based on his age. Yet he was the only one documented as a woodworker (he was listed as a house carpenter on the 1870 census of Anderson County, Tennessee). No other related pieces of furniture have as yet been identified, but hopefully further research and discoveries might confirm who the Elijah Cross who signed this chest was.
Inscription(s)"R H" inlaid into front of chest.
"Elijah Cross Elijah Cross" and "His [or This] Chist" inscribed in two directions in pencil on inside of backboard across dado for till indicating this was inscribed prior to assembly of the chest.ProvenanceCollected by Mrs. Rosamond Berry DeJarnette, gifted to Preservation Virginia (Scotchtown) by step-daughter Mrs. Jane DeJarnette Pollard in 1967.