Painted Dowry Chest

We couldn’t resist this beautifully decorated, wooden trunk.  It is obviously European and is most probably a Dowry or Hope chest.

A Dowry chest is traditionally a wooden trunk or box that is used to store special articles of clothing and other household goods for a bride to use after her marriage (a Trousseau). Evolving from medieval Europe, the bride and her family provided the new couple with everything they needed to start their lives together.

Traditionally, mothers taught their daughters at an early age how to knit, embroider, sew, and crochet in preparation for marriage. Young women, dreaming of their wedding day, started accumulating a collection of special items, including lingerie, hand-embroidered linens, towels, aprons, quilts, and other crafts and storing them for the future in a special chest, which became a symbol of hope for the future and became an important part of her Dowry. The new bride then brought her chest to her new home on her wedding day, and these items became part of her new household. Traditionally, the chest would be handed down from mother to daughter.

The chest is very heavy and measures 68cm Deep x 70cm High x 150cm Wide in size.  It is handpainted in a naïve style and believed to be over 100 years old. It has a large drawer beneath the chest. It has obviously had much use over the years and has many knocks bangs dents and old woodworm holes.

It will be one of only a few pieces that we have sold that will not be painted.  It’s beauty is in the original condition and needs no embellishment from us.