Antique Iron-Bound Chest in Pine, Central Europe, 1780

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This antique iron-bound chest in pine wood is a Central European dome-topped chest with riveted wrought-iron strapwork and two locks. … Read more This antique iron-bound chest in pine wood is a Central European dome-topped chest with riveted wrought-iron strapwork and two locks. It originates from Central Europe, from the third quarter of the nineteenth century, where pine was worked in solid board and reinforced with riveted iron strap.The domed lid distinguishes the travelling chest from the domestic one: the curved profile shed water and allowed the load to be stacked without crushing it. with two independent locks and ring handles at the sides, this piece was made to be moved laden and to guard what it carried.The case is solid pine. The lid does not describe a continuous curve: flat boards are set in a faceted arc over shaped end pieces, with the nail points clenched over on the inside. Radial wrought-iron straps run across it, riveted with round-headed nails. The plinth is cut in arches and continues the stiles into feet.The front carries two large iron rosettes cut as six-armed stars, each set within a lobed arch of riveted strap. Between them, two iron escutcheons with hasps. Across the lid, brass rosette-headed nails punctuate the boards between one strap and the next. The ironwork is not concealed reinforcement but the principal decorative motif, drawn against the pale ground of the wood.Beneath the rust of the iron a ground polychromy survives in yellow ochre and green, much worn, more legible on the sides. The wood has taken a pale, dry tone and the iron a stable black patina. The surface has not been restored.At 120 cm across the front and 80 high it works as an entrance piece, a low sideboard or a piece of character in a living room. Its domed lid and forged ironwork give it presence enough to hold a room on its own.

Dimensions: Length 120 cm – Width 62 cm – Height 80 cm. Style: Central European rustic. Materials and techniques: Pine wood; wrought-iron straps, rosettes and escutcheons; decorative brass nails; nailed construction with points clenched on the inside; lid of flat boards in a faceted arc; traces of ochre and green polychromy. Place of origin: Central Europe. Period: Nineteenth-century folk art. Date of manufacture: Circa 1870. Condition: Good. Original ironwork with a stable black patina and much-worn ground polychromy. One of the two locks does not work. Wear consistent with age and use. See less