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  DAUPHIN COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA PAINT- DECORATED DOWER CHEST, MADE FOR MADLEN NAFZER IN 1808
Dimensions (inches): 52.5" w x 23" h x 22.5" d
Description:
This colorful Pennsylvania German dower chest, with pinwheels and tiny flowers on Robin's egg blue tombstone panels, set on a salmon ground, was found with the descendents of Madlen Nafzer of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Passed down through her family for several generations, the chest is accompanied by a softbound book that details the history of the Nafzer family. It tells the basic story of the woman for whom the chest was made in 1808; of how her family arrived on American soil and of their subsequent moves from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Indiana with the migrating Pennsylvania Dutch community.

Past its striking color and decoration, one of the most spectacular things about this particular chest is its untouched paint surface and early condition. While a lateral portion of the left, back foot is absent, broken and lost during the family's possession, the back of the foot is present and extremely stable. This had been broken, presumably at the same time, but the original piece was kept and I personally doweled it back into place. I made no attempt to replace the missing side portion, so that the chest could be kept in this unspoiled form, a rare thing among surviving Pennsylvania Dower chests of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Though the name of the maker of the chest remains unknown, his work is rather well known. A related example is documented in the Pennsylvania German Decorated Chest by Monroe H. Fabian (Heritage Center of Lancaster & The Pennsylvania German Society, 2004, Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA), p. 177. Very similar in style, this was made for Madlena Deynier, dated 1816. Freeman’s Auction sold an example by the same hand in November, 2007, with the same coloration and decorative scheme, adorned with the same, distinctive, blue-painted and decorated oval medallions on its top. Pennsylvania dealers Harry Hartman and Jamie Price have each owned examples by this hand, the latter in roughly the same form but with the salmon ground in a shade nearer to brown. Noted Pennsylvania German folk art authority Lisa Minardi reported having viewed a chest by the same hand in a private collection, and that Winterthur retained another. None of the chests were signed. All had dates in the late 1820’s except the 1816 example in Fabian and this one, made for Madlen Nafzer, which is significantly earlier, at 1808. The painter thus worked for a period of at least 20 years, perhaps longer.

In summary, a beautiful Dauphin County chest with great color, known history, the earliest known date within the known examples of this yet-to-be-identified maker, and an extremely unusual feature in its make-do stocking string.

Condition: Modest wear on sides, greater paint loss on the top. See paragraph two for details about the rear, left foot.
   
Primary Color: salmon, blue
Earliest Date: 1808
Latest Date: 1808
For Sale Status: Available
Price $25,000
E-mail: info@jeffbridgman.com
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