AFA 22nd Anniversary

22nd Anniversary 102 www.afamag.com |  www.incollect.com Fig. 5 : Chest owned by Sara Hefer, attributed to Johannes Mayer (1794–1883). Upper Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County, Pa., ca. 1830–35. Hard pine, walnut, yellow poplar, paint. H. 27½, W. 49, D. 21¼ inches. The Dietrich American Foundation (8.2.4.1232). Photo by Gavin Ashworth. Furniture made for three of Peter’s siblings is known to survive, including a kitchen cupboard made for Rebecca Braun in 1828; a chest made for Andreas Braun in 1829; and a chest made for Michael Braun Jr. in 1831. A single workshop is probably responsible for making these four pieces of Braun family furniture; most likely, they were made by Michael Braun Sr. and/or his son John Brown (b. 1808). Both were carpenters and joiners; John also worked as a weaver and house carpenter. CHEST WITH PRAYING CHILDREN This chest is one of at least five known examples decorated with images of children kneeling in prayer on the facade (Fig. 5). All are constructed with chunky, turned feet that are slightly canted due to the use of wedge-shaped blocks pegged onto the bottom of the chest. The feet are then attached through a hole in the blocks and screwed into the bottom board with long, threaded wooden dowels. Sometimes the dowel’s tip pokes through the bottom board of the chest and is visible within the main compartment; otherwise, this method of attachment is invisible once the feet are installed. This is an unusual construction feature rarely if ever found on other groups of Pennsylvania German chests; the only other furniture made in southeastern Pennsylvania that consistently have feet attached with wooden screws is a group of tall chests linked to Quakers in Chester County as well as Frederick County, Maryland. 3 This chest was most likely made and decorated by Johannes Mayer (1794–1883), a carpenter, joiner, and turner who lived in Upper Mahanoy Township, near the Northumberland–Schuylkill County line. The molding around the chest lids is identical to woodwork in Mayer’s own home, as well as molding planes that he once owned. Moreover, the painted decoration on these chests appears to be by the same hand as that on a chest of drawers dated 1829 and signed “John Mayer” twice on one of the drawer dividers. 4 Further solidifying the attribution of this chest to Johannes Mayer is the recent discovery of his daughter Catharina’s birth and baptismal certificate, a printed form decorated with images of praying children to either side of the main text block (Fig. 6).