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The "RA" chest survives with its original red and black paint and is one of a body of furniture, including chests and boxes, made in western Massachusetts in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The facade is carved with characteristic carving - a flat flower and leaf design. Drawer facades and panels were usually carved separately, the design laid out with a template to assure regularity. In this example the woodworker used a gouge to highlight the recessed area of the decoration. The initials probably stand for Rebecca Allis, born 1683, in Hatfield, Massachusetts.

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