Dressing glass
American demand for exotic Chinese imports increased with the onset of direct trading between China and the United States in 1784. While President, George Washington took advantage of the wide variety of Chinese luxury goods arriving in New York and Philadelphia. He purchased several lacquerware pieces, including this dressing glass, likely for use by Mrs. Washington or one of his granddaughters: Martha, Eleanor, or Eliza Parke Custis. It would have held jewelry as well as costly toiletries such as powder and scented waters. This dressing glass descended in the family of Eliza Parke Custis Law.
See also boxes W-543/A-D and dressing glasses: W-221/A and W-219.
A single piece, vertical backing board is held in place by three wooden keys on the back of the mirror and one wooden key screwed to the top of the mirror frame. Brass thumbscrews with wingnuts (modern) secure the mirror within the standards. The standards are tenoned through the top of the box. The box and drawer appear to be nailed and glued together. The drawer has two brass pulls and a lock at center.
The feet are extensions of the skirts.
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), 46.