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Colonial Craftsmen
Dutch and English immigrants brought distinctive furniture forms to New Jersey
Teaneck, Dreahook, Bradevelt, Tenafly, Paulins Kill... What do these unique place names have in common? They all owe their origin to the Dutch, the first European residents of New Jersey. From their initial permanent settlement at Bergen in the 1600s, Dutch immigrants migrated up the Hackensack, Passaic, and Raritan River valleys. With them came a unique furniture form known as the kast. Designed to hold linens, the kast echoes the shape of a double doorway flanked by two columns supporting a massive cornice. Due to their imposing size, kasten often stayed in the same family home for generations. Kasten were also a symbol of Dutch ancestral pride.
Born to an English father and a Dutch mother, Matthew Egerton, Jr. of New Brunswick made a number of kasten throughout his prolific career as a New Jersey cabinetmaker. He also built furniture forms that suited the tastes of English residents living throughout the state. Designed for the same purpose as the kast, this linen press bearing Matthew Egerton's typical label exhibits an English influence in contrast to its Dutch-styled cousin. |