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Chest of Drawers
Made for Elizabeth Richards by John Shearer
1808-1814; probably Loudoun County, Virginia
Walnut primary, oak and poplar secondary.
Height: 38 ¼”; width: 40 inches; depth: 23 ½”.
Inscribed twice on top drawer and backboard interior “Shearer joiner.”
John Shearer’s iconoclastic style is instantly recognizable to American furniture enthusiasts and this chest fits squarely in to the known pieces of his original and individualistic work. Shearer’s furniture reveals that he was a highly trained and skilled artisan who imbued classical elements with a bold architectonic vision and applied decoration that contained meaning and significance to his customers and himself.
Despite several attempts at research to uncover Shearer’s early life, his origins and training remain a mystery. What is known of the cabinetmaker has been gleaned from the often cryptic political and personal messages he inscribed or wrote directly on his furniture. These comments referred to the military exploits of Great Britain, but also included sarcastic comments on his contemporaries, including other cabinetmakers and even his clients.
According to Elizabeth Davison, author of The Furniture of John Shearer 1790-1829, this chest contains four of cabinetmaker John Shearer’s signature elements: a serpentine façade with blocked ends, vertical pulls, unconventional top and bottom moldings and swelled bracket feet. Although the elusive Shearer is usually thought of as a Berkeley County (now West Virginia) resident, it appears he spent some time in Loudoun County Virginia from about 1810 to about 1818. This chest of drawers was made during that time for a Mrs. Elizabeth Richards.
The chest also includes political iconography and inscriptions incorporated in the decoration. On the top drawer is an inlaid central medallion depicting a classical urn and an incised lion rampant flanked by “Engl” and “Glory.” Above the urn is a face of a Native American, incised on the foot of the urn is “By” and on the plaque below is “Shearer to Mrs Elizth Richards.” According to Ms. Davison, the lion rampant refers to British military might as do the words English Glory lauding the British army’s successes in the war on the Iberian Peninsula from 1808 to 1814. The Native American face is perhaps a reference to the alliance between the British and the Native Americans during the War of 1812.
The chest is in excellent condition commensurate with its age and usage. The brasses are period correct replacements in the original holes.
Additional information on John Shearer and this particular chest can be found in The Furniture of John Shearer 1790-1829 by Elizabeth Davison, Entry 7, Page 107, et al. which cataloges the recent exhibitions at Colonial Williamsburg and the DAR Musuem.