APOTHECARY CHEST

This chest - with its classical lines, use of figured veneers, and simple line inlay - is typical of neoclassical furniture made by Baltimore craftsmen during the late eighteenth century.

Baltimore, Maryland was a city on the rise.  Quickly after the American Revolution it eclipsed its neighbor to the east, Annapolis, as the state's primary mercantile center.  Baltimore's meteoric rise to prominence coincided with the popularity of neoclassicism as a style in decorative arts.  Neoclassicism looked to ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration.  For a new nation grounded on Democratic ideals of Greece and the Republican virtues or Rome, furniture that looked to ancient Greece and Rome seemed exceedingly appropriate.

This chest descended in the Fling family of Frederick, Maryland where it is supposed to have been used at their plantation.