Thomas Dennis boxes
A look at several period boxes associated with his shop in 17th-century Ipswich, Massachusetts
A couple of things got me thinking about the carved boxes from Thomas Dennis’s shop tradition - (a vague term indicating work either by Dennis or his apprentices.) One was the small carved box in the upcoming auction and the resulting reproduction I made of it. The other is that I’ve been working away at editing my next carving video series, which is about the strapwork patterns that I first saw on work from TD’s shop.
There’s at least 14 or 15 boxes that we know of - or that I can think of anyway. The two standouts are the large boxes with a drawer. One descended in Thomas Dennis’s family - it’s now at Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
It’s about the coolest thing going. I’ve only seen it in detail once, and came away with some questions answered, others raised. I plan on making another copy of it this year. For that, I ordered some quartersawn sycamore for the lid. The original lid isn’t quartersawn - but I don’t want to push my luck.
There’s another with a similar, but different, strapwork pattern. Its drawer is missing. That one has no history, but is clearly the same hand. Historic New England owns it.
Those are the only two New England boxes I know with that pattern. The other Thomas Dennis boxes have a couple different schemes. One is what I call the S-scrolls - like that small one I posted about last week. It’s on that small box, but also on a more typical sized one at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
It’s big - H: 9 1/2” W: 25 1/2” D: 14 3/16”. Oak box, pine lid & bottom. I haven’t seen that box in detail in 35 years - it’s a beauty. All original, except one cleat the collection catalog says. A couple other boxes use the S-scrolls - including this desk box - a slanted lidded box - at the Rowley Historical Society
The lid is a slap-dash replacement. Grossly thick & clunky. A lengthwise till inside.
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