Featured Old chest questions

Hello,

I have a old chest and I want to know how old it is and what is the origin?

 

No expert but my gut reaction is that this is Spanish and at least early to mid 19th century. Could be significantly earlier. I am seeing some listed as early as 17th century. Have found none with door and drawers like yours.

 

That's an old chest con.Did you find it,or family treasure ?

 

WOW, that looks "Older that Dirt", and by that, I mean I don't know, but I think @verybrad could be closer with 17th or 18th century.....leather and wood.....and all those...? brads? What Fun! Can you give us any history or how you acquired it??? And WELCOME to ANTIQUERS!!!

 

What an impressive looking thing.Definitely looks to be a few hundred years old. Also I’ve never seen a chest/trunk with a door and drawers like that (so I can’t really help) But very cool!

 

Man, I completely disagree. I don’t see the possibility of what we are looking at as being any earlier than mid-19th century at the earliest, and very possibly decades later. I’ve never seen identical round head tacks like those that are covering this piece until mass production of hardware was in full swing, I.e. mid 19th or later. No reason to think leather is older than that either.

And the oldest looking hardware, what looks like hand cut decoration for what should be a front latch surround, doesn’t fit or work with the latch hardware hanging from the lid (keyhole or hasp anyone?) and covers what looks like a patched in repair to the wood behind it - I.e. it looks like it was added to cover up a repair and look misleadingly old. Hinges - (not shown)?; handles (inside and out)?

Drawers have hand cut dovetails with glued on bottoms, but that was done on small drawers like this throughout 19th century and relatively easy to do on small drawers like this even today. How big is this - looks less than 2 feet long, so wood not particularly wide, nor does the rounded wood look hand finished from what we can see.

Maybe there is something inside, or underneath, that will show substantial age, but from the pics so far, I’m just not seeing it.

 

I agree. Also, the small door hinges protrude at the corner of the chest and could cause damage to the door if struck. As indicated by @Jeff Drum, the "surround" meant to capture of the upper locking hinged component is not a locking mechanism. The upper hinged locking tab does not appear to be long enough to mate with a proper sized lock unit and a portion may have been broken off the end. Photos of the reverse side of the upper component and the end of the lock component would be helpful in addition to the others requested.

 

Good stuff. This post is turning out to be very interesting and informative.

 

@conimus, welcome aboard The Antiquers' Train and hope you enjoy tour time here.

 

-fasten yr seat belt Conimus !

 

I do think some more pictures of the OP's chest are in order.

For comparison here are some other similar chests purported to be older than 19th century.

Offered by a Spanish auction house as 18th century.



SPANISH TRAVEL CHEST, 18TH CENTURY. - Jul 15, 2021 | Subastas de Barcelona S.L. (Subarna Casa de Subastas) in España (liveauctioneers.com)

Did find one with drawers. Offered by a high-end gallery and offered as 18th century.



Studded leather-wrapped dome chest, 18th - Furniture - Galerie Des Minimes

This one is by an English antique dealer. Offered as early 17th century Spanish.



17th Century Spanish Leather Arcon or Travelling Chest | BADA

 

Hello, the chest is 115x40x50 cm. (LxWxH)

 

@verybrad, allow me to be the first to say, Bingo!!!

 

Wouldn't say this is definitive. Very little info about that chest on the webpage. Did find that the gallery is in Brussels, Belgium.

 

Chests 1 & 2, reproductions due to lack of aging and #3 more likely authentic IMO, however one can only speculate.

 

Well, at least we know the size now, and it is larger than it looks in pics, and consistent in size with brads examples.

One notable difference, lack of feet, but could be ok if not attached as in last example of brads (detached feet on that one don’t look original anyway). We haven’t seen underneath, so who knows. And latch on OP chest also very different and still makes no sense, added later to cover up. Hinges? Side handles?

For detail on brads links, I can’t open first link, so don’t know what that shows. Liveauctioneers not nearly as reliable as the better known auction houses, however, so I wouldn’t put too much faith in what they say.

The second link seems to be a used furniture dealer of all styles, but could know what they are talking about. All wood in interior has been covered in red felt, so impossible to see wood. If I were considering buying that one I would get permission to pull back felt, look closely at tacks to convince myself they weren’t mass produced, look for wear in drawers, I.e. look very closely before buying. That one doesn’t convince me from pics shown, but I don’t buy from pics.

The last example clearly shows tacks that have been hand done. A good start. And a BADA seller, so should answer honestly about any rework that was done. Interior wood unfortunately covered with lining in this one also, but at least there is some age to the lining. I would want to know whether new bottom added, since looks like it may have two bottom boards based on turned brace hardware at bottom that turns where it shouldn’t, unlike sides that turn correctly for strength. Hinges look period correct, and this is the only one that shows hinges. I can believe this is a good example, maybe with some mods over the years you expect to see.

Are tacks on OP old or new? OP tacks still look mass produced to me, but I’m looking from thousands of miles away without good or complete pics. If OP chest was mine, I would examine closely, find the loosest tacks and gently remove a couple so I could look to see how constructed. That would tell a lot about age and originality of decoration. Then look at all hardware closely to see if it there is evidence of being replaced (like the latch almost certainly is) and if so what was there originally. Bottom, drawer bottom, and interior wood also unknown on OP, but he should examine closely.

 

I find it odd chest #2 has no locking mechanism for the three small drawers on the left side???

 

Spanish and very hard to date exactly because the hardware on all chests and boxes from Spain and their colonies didn't change for centuries but IMO 1750- 1790 ish, the reason for this estimate is the broken lock (or lack of) but the remains of the keep and it's detail is right for that age. The hinges are another good tell to age, often on boxes and chests they would have loop hinges, just 2 loops of metal connecting lid and body that go into the wood and are bent over, these tend to last and are not normally replaced. Pity the lock has gone but still a very nice chest.