Trunk

Object Name:

Trunk

Object ID:

1941.016.05

Date:

circa 1750

Description:

Trunk, leather, wood, and iron. Leather-covered, domed document box. Simple wrought iron handle on curving top, attached by two staples that pass through top surface. Staples 2.5" apart. Loose iron hasp on outside of box lid, nailed in place with two iron nails. Decorative mark on hasp partially obliterated. Iron plate on front of box, 2.6" wide, 1.8" high. Keyhole opening at bottom center of plate. Vertical slot in upper left corner. Four decorative-headed steel nails holding plate in place. Leather on top appears to be glued in place with end pieces cut and pulled down sides of top. Leather for top runs from bottom edge of front lid, all the way across top, and down back, extends slightly onto bottom surface being thinned and glued in place. Some portions of leather are loops. Leather on ends and front surface all also glued in place. Wood strip on bottom on front acts as foot, covering bottom front edge; held in place by two steel nails. Leather on right and left ends also extend onto bottom surface being thinned and glued in place. Embossed design on outside of box. Repeated and decorative symbols in bands on top edges on top. Same bands extend across top front edge of top, down left and right sides on front and across bottom edge of front surface. Appears to be some blossoms and possibly some leaves as part of decoration, along with geometric shapes. Top: four embossed diamonds ~1.25" on a side containing blossoms and leaves. Two are at either end of handle staples and one each at front and at back adjacent to handle with four smaller embossed emblems also on top surface. Two similar small emblems on front surface on either side of lock plate. Some of decorative bands appear to have slight silver tint to them in the embossed decorative elements on front to right of lock plate. Faint decorations with some darker-colored sets of parallel lines creating edges for curved top at ends of box on front, back edges and bottom edge. Some worn parallel lines across back, similar to ends. Pencil writing on bottom of box at one end, "tickney" as one of the possible four words. Some other worn writing in same area. Two semi-circular wooden elements inside of box extending upward and help to support and seal curvature of lid at ends. Also, short wooden lip on inside of front bottom section to also act as seal. Top of box hinged to bottom section by single piece of leather covering. Inside of box covered with printed French text on light-colored paper; title on part of lid, "ISLE DE PARIS. FOLIO.", repeated twice; then three numbered paragraphs, "Quarto", then more numbered paragraphs. "LANGUEDOC." on bottom inside of box. More numbered paragraphs. "NAVAREE ET BERN. FOLIO"on inside front of bottom. "QUARTO" after a repeat of "NAVAREE ET BERN." Leather not associated with anything inside box.

Material:

Wood
Leather
Iron
Paper

Dimensions:

H-3.7 W-10.2 D-6.2 inches Weight-17.75 oz

Credit Line:

Gift of Charlotte M. Brooks

Subjects:

Boxes, Trunks