16th Century Flemish Oak Strong Box Trunk with Iron Strapwork

Chests are one of the oldest pieces of furniture, as ancient Egyptians first used them around 3000 BC. During the early Renaissance, taller chests, such as this French oak coffre chest...

A beautiful and robust Spanish trunk, the carvings on the front façade are large and vibrant, accented by a deep brown patina. The trunk was hand-carved in the 1600s by a master craftsman, using both oak and walnut woods. Large dovetail joineries, visible on the sides, add character to the trunk, without taking away from the magnificent carvings. Two large, pierced iron straps support the massive trunk lid, which is embellished with several thin moldings. Both sides have an ovate handle affixed by a pierced floral mount, above an arbalete apron. The sinuosity continues on the front apron, but in more dramatic fashion, with a series of counter curves. Above the apron is a raised area (also seen on the sides) adorned with a winged angel mascaron inside of a shaped console, flanked by a large rosette atop a vine that is surrounded by a foliate border. A similar foliate carving can be seen on the recessed section of the façade, encircling another well-carved cartouche. The upper scene consists of a heart surmounting flowering leaves (beneath a shaped escutcheon), flanked by a pair of niches filled with sunbursts over flowering vines, which are in turn flanked by larger sunbursts personified with a mascaron center. All four sunbursts are incorporated with a cross, which, when depicted with the heart, symbolizes “love for all mankind”. Our richly carved Spanish trunk...

Adorned by an impressive lattice of strapwork, this oak and iron money chest from 17th-century France is both functional and aesthetically appealing. An elaborate, stylized iron fleu...

Dating to the 1700s, this beautiful Venetian chest, which is covered in crimson velvet, has brass embellishments in the style of the Renaissance. The beautiful color of the velvet an...

The relief of folded cloths was common in the Gothic furniture, coming from Flanders in the 15th century and used in Spain in a common way well into the 16th century, although 17th c...

We have the pleasure to present a rare late medieval 16th century German wrought iron oak chest or Stollentruhe. This is an early 16th century, ci...

A very impressive Westphalian Gothic chest or ‚Stollentruhe’, Westphalia, Germany, circa 1500-1550. Wrought iron mounted oak, partially carved. The monumental rectangular standing chest with full-height stiles, extensively mounted with wrought ironwork straps terminating in quatrefoil finials which ’wrap’ around the chest edges. These are fixed with convex head nails. The ironwork with some remains of an originally red painted surface. In addition, running along the edges of the lid at the front and sides is a plain iron band, close-nailed. The feet of the two front legs are finely carved on the front face, in low relief with a rectangular arched ’panel’ depicting on the left a lion, on the right a dragon holding each a coat of arms. Regarding the age of circa 500 years, this coffer is in exceptionally good condition, with only smaller restorations.  Comparative literature • Baumeier, Stefan, Beschlagene Kisten; Die ältesten Truhen Westfalens, Essen, 2012. • Falke, Otto von, Deutsche Möbel...

A quite large 16th century Italian so called 'coffre fort' . Coffers or chest like these were specifically made for cities or large villages to safegueard the gold and valuables. The...