18th Century Italian Oak Box or Chest

Details

Description

Small chest hand-made in Italy in the early 1700s using oak. This little guy is just the right combination of … Read more Small chest hand-made in Italy in the early 1700s using oak. This little guy is just the right combination of rustic, cute and old. Its small size make it a perfect piece for many different purposes: sofa side table, entryway accent piece, bedroom hiding spot for anything that does not have an officially assigned drawer in the house (what my mom used to call the cabinet of horrors when I was a teenager).
Overall the chest or cassettina has a simple and rustic appearance. The hinges and rose-headed nails are still original, as well as the paw feet. The front of the case is decorated by two chamfered panels framed in round molding. Despite being very straight-lined the piece looks anything but flat because of all the little dents, chips, scratches and irregularities accumulated over hundreds of years of use, and this is really the best feature of this tiny gem, the patina is fantastic and one can see that this little guy had a long life, but it is still game for another couple hundred years. See less