Family Stories A Bonus Of Dar Collection

For more than a century, Daughters of the American Revolution members have been donating family heirlooms to the organization, including what has grown to be more than 1,000 examples of early American furniture. Two dozen of the choicest pieces have been selected for the society’s first exhibition of its furniture holdings.

Described as a “highly important collection” by Colonial Williamsburg curator Ron Hurst, the DAR’s holdings are unusual because of the detailed provenance associated with most of the pieces. Family stories - or legends - came along with them, as well as, in many cases, solid documentation of when, where and by whom they were made.

The pieces date from about 1680, when quality furniture first began to be made in the colonies, to about 1840, when custom workshops gave way to factories.

Those on view are “case” furniture, a term embracing desks, chests, bureaus and other items that are designed to stand against a wall and that have drawers and/or doors giving access to interior storage spaces.

“These were prized possessions in which other prized possessions were stored or displayed,” DAR spokeswoman Nancy Tuckhorn notes. “They give us a picture not only of craftsmanship but of the lives and expectations of their owners.”

“American Case Furniture 1680-1840: Selections from the DAR Museum Collection,” runs through Oct. 31 at the DAR Museum (202) 879-3241.