Antique Sugar Chest Southeastern Tennessee, Circa 1800-Mid 1800’s

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Sugar Chest Southeastern Tennessee, Circa 1800-mid 1800’s
-A wonderful Southern piece of furniture!

-Purchased from Rosemary Sampley at the annual … Read more Sugar Chest Southeastern Tennessee, Circa 1800-mid 1800’s
-A wonderful Southern piece of furniture!

-Purchased from Rosemary Sampley at the annual Dolly Johnson Antique and Art Show. Claiming to be the largest and oldest antique show in the South West, it was founded in 1963 and ran for ~50 years at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth's Cultural District.
(Highly reputable dealers traveled from many states, fiercely competing for a much coveted booth. Dealers were selected based on reputation and portfolio and strove to be honest for fear of loosing their spot. )

This is from my personal collection. I have owned it for 30 years. It has always been in an a/c, non-smoking house, away from sunshine.

A sugar chest is a chest, usually on legs, made of wood designed to hold sugar (circa early 1800s), when sugar was very valuable. As sugar was a sign of wealth, these chests would feature a lock to keep their sweet investment secure. They typically featured sections inside to separate light and dark sugars. A screen was often placed at the bottom of the entire chest to guard against insects.

The lady of the house or a trusted servant/slave kept the key as sugar came in cones, was expensive and was brought inland by merchants. The drawer was probably used for the implement to shave from the cones.

I was told by a viewer that the legs or feet were often oiled or put in little containers of oil to keep ants out.

Rosemary purchased this Sheraton Sugar Chest in Tennessee, but said they were used throughout the south, and are most often found in TN, KY, NC, AL, GA and even into VA., circa 1830, but as early as the late 1700’s.

As is so often the case, when a piece was originally painted, whatever woods were available would be combined to produced the final product.

The sides of the upper portion are all “one board”, meaning the trees were huge and very old to have produced such large boards. You don’t find “ one board” construction in modern furniture.

Rosemary purchased this chest in southeast TN, and believed it to be a Tennessee or Kentucky piece made of Pine and possibly Alder woods. A fountain-of-knowledge, Ms Sampley said these type of chest were functional, cherished pieces of furniture, that moved with their families—whether it was just the top portion going to town on the buckboard to return home with sugar or to another state for a new adventure. They often held a place of honor in the household.

This sturdy, tough little chest is comprised of a square (ish) dovetailed upper case with a hinged, molded (on 3 sides) lid.

The upper portion has one removable interior divider for light and a dark sugar. Some people used them to secure bottles in the different compartments.

The drawer is dovetailed (someone repaired or secured the dovetailing with a few nails)
The bottom is hand chamfered (hand hewed or hand shaved). There is some shrinkage in the bottom of the drawer and a crack that runs the width, but the drawer is functional and pulls in and out easily. I have a video if it would help.

-Metal pulls on drawer and metal plate over the keyhole (original lock is missing)

-The hardware is brass colored, I’m not sure if solid brass, but probably. Judging by the hardware and screws it was replaced at some point.

-A screen covers the base under the drawer.

-The chest rests on 4 tapering short legs with turned, Sheraton feet.

-The divider in top section is removable and a lovely walnut color.

-The finish is old, but as there are signs of previous paint, not original. It has not been touched by me.

Overall good condition with losses and wear to the original surface. See below list of imperfections, but study the pictures for condition as it is impossible to list everything in an almost 200 year old piece.
Feel free to ask for a video or more pictures if needed.

Dimensions:
28”H x 20.5”W x 19”D

Imperfections:

-Screen in bottom has scattered light stains on it visible from bottom. It is an old screen.

-I keep a leg glide or a felt pad under one leg because it will rock. I can’t tell why it rocks, no leg is the apparent culprit. .

-Wear is consistent with ~ 200 y/o age. It looks to be in very good condition for that age, but look at pic and judge for yourself.

-The remains of some green paint are seen in the inside of the top.

-Wear to the top, some age cracks, w/ one extending the whole width, but lid is still sturdy.

-Hardware has been replaced.

-The hinges are old, but I don’t know if they are original as I see some other probable hardware marks on the back by the right hinge.

-Lock not present on upper container, some minor hardware patches to top and around escutcheon. You can see there was some type of hardware in the center of the bottom drawer that has been removed and patched.

-50 cent size ding on left side that was present when I purchased it and may have been repaired as it matches the rest of the piece.

-10 cent size ding on the front, also matches finish.

-To be safe, I would say there are numerous scuffs and dings on the piece, consistent with age. It is quite attractive, in spite of ~200 years of age.

-Many times, the top section and the bottom section (drawer with legs) would be separate. This one may have been joined at one point or was built that way.

-Different type wood at top of drawer opening.

See pictures of the condition of the drawer. It opens and closes on runners well.

-There are some age cracks in bottom of the hand chamfered base of the drawer.

-An age crack in the bottom of the top portion, visible when the divider is removed.

-Appears to be made of different woods as often happened with painted pieces.

-Timeless lines and classic beauty allows it to mesh easily with many interior decor styles: European Farmhouse, Traditional, Transitional, Ranch, French Country, Boho, Country, Rustic High-Country, or eclectic Modern look. See less