Dressing box

Dressing boxes
Cypress, lacquer, gilt
c. 1790-1795

Dressing glass and boxes
Cypress, glass, lacquer, gilt
c. 1790-1795

Status

Not on view

Date1790-1800 or c. 1784-1805

Possible retailer Samuel Dunlap (American)

Possible retailer John McElwee (American)

Possible retailer Kid & Co. (American, 1793 - 1796)

Geography Made - China

Medium/TechniqueWood, lacquer, gilt

DimensionsOverall (H x W x D ): 1 3/4 in. × 4 in. × 3 1/4 in. (4.45 cm × 10.16 cm × 8.26 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, 1939 Conservation courtesy of the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation

Object numberW-221/D

DescriptionShaped box with independent lid decorated with gilt over dark brown or black lacquer. The top, short side of the box is scalloped, the bottom, short side is coved or hollowed, one long side follows an S-curve, and the other is scalloped.Cover features a daisy on a blue or green-colored gilded ground at center, bordered by a geometric-patterned ground of alternating octagons and squares. Floral and leafy sprigs on sides. Interiors and outside bottom lacquered.
Published ReferencesCarol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 241, 247. (general reference).

Helen Maggs Fede, Washington Furniture at Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, Virginia: Mount Vernon Ladies Association, 1966), 45-6.

Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.