A Gothic oak chest
Oaken box mounted with wrought iron bands with floral terminals acroll the sides and lid. Two of the bands of the lid continue forward to form hinges, the central one a bolt for the lock at the front. Two bolts and two stabilising bands on the lid later, bottom and centre back panel replaced. H 87.5, W 107, D 56 cm.
Late 15th / first half 16th C.
This early opulently mounted and unusually well-preserved chest was a rare piece of luxury furniture. The iron fittings had no structural function, but were merely intended to display the wealth of the client. Such chests were often used as safes for important documents, money or valuables. The size of this piece of furniture suggests that it was designed as a wedding chest to be filled with the bride's dowry, linen, clothing and valuable household goods.
The original assumption that this type of chest only originated in Westphalia has already been refuted by Otto von Falke. Heinrich Kreisel later clarified this in more detail. The design probably originated in Westphalia, but then spread up the Rhine river via the Lower Rhine region to Switzerland, Alsace and Lorraine. He was also able to identify pieces from Thuringia, Saxony and Bohemia.
Literature
Cf. Kreisel, Die Kunst des deutschen Möbels, vol. 1, Von den Anfängen bis zum Hochbarock, Munich 1968, p. 26, fig. 42 ff.
Cf. Colsman, Möbel. Gotik bis Jugendstil. Die Sammlung im Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln, Cologne 1999, cat. no. 29.