A commanding dome-top coffer in oak, bound front and lid with hand-wrought iron strapwork in scrolling foliate forms. The central escutcheon is pierced and shaped, framing the original lock, and the chest retains its working key. Iron carrying handles to each end. The two-tone surface, a deeper patina across the arched lid above a warmer body, carries two centuries of use. Coffers of this form served as marriage and dowry chests across Northern Europe, built to hold linens and valuables and to travel with a household. The pierced strapwork is the work of a blacksmith, not a factory: each scroll forged and chased by hand.
Dimensions: 31"H × 56"W × 31.5"D. Denmark, 18th century. Oak with original iron mounts, lock, and key.
