Dressers (cupboards)

Refers to case furniture similar to sideboard or buffet and used for dressing food and for storing and displaying dishes, fine tableware, and eating and serving utensils. The dresser was used in England beginning in the Tudor period, when it developed as a side table that was often fitted with a row of drawers. In the late 17th century, a dresser typically included a low backboard and narrow shelves or drawers, sometimes used to display valuable dishes. Dressers of this type were very popular in the 19th century. In France and Germany, dressers were more elaborately carved, and often included a cupboard, with or without doors, and a pot board below. In America, the term "dresser (chest of drawers)" refers to a piece of bedroom furniture that is similar in form to the European "dresser (cupboard)."