The Noted "House of Derr" Pennsylvania Dutch Dower Chest, dated 1778, Tulpehocken Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, the dovetailed case opening to a candle box, inside of lid stenciled "PETER DERR" c. 1832 and fronted with three arched panels each painted with religious and mythological motifs, the central panel with two unfettered unicorns and an "olaf baum" or olive tree, on bracket feet, painted in black, red, green, orange and yellow overall, height 22 3/8 in., width 50 1/2 in., depth 22 ¬ in. E25000-35000 Provenance: Johannes Derr to Peter Derr, to Elizabeth Yeakley Knoll, to James F. Spears, Marietta and Chris Machmer, then with Ray Holland, Allentown, PA. Note: The dovetailed construction and lift-top form of lot 445 is typical of the Schreinerei German cabinetmaking tradition. One possibly English influence seen in this distinctive chest is the introduction of two large matching strap hinges that have fine pigtail finials. The austere Pennsylvania Dutch community usually shied away from such elaborate decoration, using strap hinges made from oxen shoes. The painted decoration also relates to fraktur illuminated manuscript designs often used for decorating household items, using Christian iconography as an everyday reminder of religious and marital virtues. The three panels composing the front of the dower chest evoke the trinity; painted tulips, the resurrection; the central olive tree, fertility; and the horses, fidelity. Aside from their use as a religious motif, the tulip trees on the outside panels in orange and crimson hues, unmistakably link the Pennsylvania Germanic community to the House of Orange and Brunswick. Painted on these panels is the date "1778". Most significant to the history of Pennsylvania, 1778 was the year in which Caleb Lownes designed the State Coat of Arms. Also appearing on the State Flag, it shows two horses rearing up against a shield with an olive branch and a corn stalk. Reference: Illustrated in James Spears, House of Derr, pp, 1949, pp. 82-85, pl. 32, 33. A Pennsylvania dower chest similar in form and decoration to lot 445 is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and illustrated in Marshall Davidson and Elizabeth Stillinger, The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, fig. 191 and Jonathan Fairbanks, ed., American Furniture, 1620 to the Present, p. 322.