by Douglas Moulder
This reproduction is of an original that I saw at the Old Salem/Museum of early Southern Decorative Arts, North Carolina (MESDA), in 2014 when I attended the museum tour as part of Woodworking in America-2014. The "Pinwheel Cabinet" was featured on the cover of "Furniture IN THE Southern Style: 27 Shop Drawings of Furniture from the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts" by Robert W. Lang and Glen D. Huey. I purchased the book in the MESDA gift shop. The book included very good drawings and history on the piece. The original was from Central Piedmont/North Carolina and made around 1780-1790. The name of the maker is unknown. The cabinet/chest was not a spice cabinet, but most likely was used for valuables. I tried to replicate the same construction as the original, which had some unusual details. The cabinet has a hood similar to a tall case clock. The stringing and "fylfot-(pinwheel)" inlay is hard white maple. There are four blocked drawers, with walnut fronts and the sides,bottom and backs are quarter sawn douglas fir. I produced the decorative mouldings to match the original, using hollow-and-round moulding planes. The half mortise cabinet lock is from Horton brasses. The finish is multiple coats of Minwax Antique Oil, with Minwax paste wax.