Lot 3: Pennsylvania painted poplar dower chest, ca. 1800,

Description: Pennsylvania painted poplar dower chest, ca. 1800, decorated with large panels of potted tulips, birds, and cats, all on a stippled ochre ground, inscribed on underside of lid Philip Zerbe in German script, probably eastern Lebanon County, 27 1/2" h., 48 1/4" w. The chest remains in a remarkable state of preservation and is one of the finest extant examples of this type, retaining virtually all of the decoration on the lid as well as the rare embellishments of birds and cats. Published in Fabian The Pennsylvania German Decorated Chest, fig. 156.