The Charleston Museum Adds a Charleston-Made Double Chest to its Lowcountry Furniture Collection

Mahogany and Cypress Charleston-Made Double Chest (Photo credit: The Charleston Museum)

Press Release

The Charleston Museum, located at 360 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston is pleased to announce the addition of a Charleston-made double chest to its collection of early Lowcountry furniture. The mahogany and cypress chest, attributed to the shop of Charleston cabinetmaker William Carwithen (1704-1770), features distinct construction details that are shared with a marked Carwithen desk, held in MESDA’s collection. This recent Charleston Museum acquisition is the earliest known example of the double chest—or “chest on chest”—form, c. 1735-1750. Double chests were documented in the Lowcountry from the 1730s and remained popular through the American Revolution, to the exclusion of other types more popular elsewhere in British America.

The chest, the most recent addition to the Museum’s history collection, will debut to the public in Part II of the Museum’s 250th anniversary exhibit America’s First Museum: 250 Years of Collecting, Preserving and Educating beginning June 17th, before being put on permanent display at the Museum’s Heyward-Washington House in 2024. The acquisition of the piece was funded by the E. Milby Burton Trust for Historic Houses, named in honor of former Charleston Museum Director E. Milby Burton. The Trust supports acquisitions and special projects for the Museum’s two historic houses. 

“We are thrilled to add this important piece of local history to our collection,” said R. Chad Stewart, Curator of History, at The Charleston Museum. Double chests were extremely popular in the Lowcountry during the colonial period and the Museum is fortunate to have examples representing the 50-year popularity of the form and its evolution in the region from 1735 to 1785.” “We’re grateful that the Burton Trust recognized the importance of this chest and chose to make possible its return to Charleston,” said Stewart.

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