18th century, overhanging top with molded edge, dovetailed drawers with original brasses, central drawer with deeply carved fan, shaped apron, cabriole legs with applied knee returns, pad feet, poplar secondary, 31-1/2 x 36-1/2 x 2-7/8 in.

Provenance: Inscription inside top drawer reads "In the Hurlbut Family Previous to 1827". Thomas Hurlbut was born in Scotland in 1610 and came to Connecticut in 1635 where he served as Lieutenant under Lion Gardner at Fort Saybrook. He was rewarded with a sizable land grant at Wethersfield for his service, and became a prominent citizen in the growing settlement. The original owner of this table was most likely Amos Hurlbut (1717-1777), the great grandson of Thomas (see photos for additional information on family); Nathan Liverant and Son, Colchester, Connecticut, January 2005 (accompanied by copy of receipt for $120,000); Estate of Richard and Shirley Roberts, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Note: A similar flat top high chest is attributed to John Roberts (1744-1837) of Hartford County, Connecticut, and is in the collection of Connecticut Landmarks (formerly the Antiquarian and Landmarks Society), at the Butler-McCook Homestead in Hartford.

For information on the group of furniture attributed to John Roberts, see Thomas P. and Alice K. Kugelman with Robert Lionetti, Connecticut Valley Furniture, Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries, 1750-1800 (2005), pp. 110-115. Additional information is published in William C. Ketchum, Jr., American Cabinetmakers, Marked American Furniture, 1640-1940 (1995), p. 282.