How often do silver chests come up for sale?

Around twelve reach the market on Sellingantiques in a year, so this is a category that trickles rather than floods. Sixty-one different dealers have listed one. That spread tells you most handle them occasionally rather than keeping them in stock.

What wood are silver chests made from?

Oak is the house timber, named in the majority of titles. That is the bound country-house and travelling box most buyers will see. Mahogany is the next most common. Walnut, including burl and solid red walnut, cherrywood and one lacquered chinoiserie chest fill out the remainder, and these woods gather at the top of the range.

Is a silver trunk the same as a silver chest?

Yes. Dealers use the two words for the same thing, and 'trunk' appears in around a quarter of titles. Sometimes it carries a qualifier: ships, sea, steamer, shipping or travelling. Those point to a piece made to move rather than stand in one room.

Were silver chests made to travel?

Some were. About a dozen titles describe campaign, ships, sea or steamer trunks, including one listed as an officer's campaign chest. The rest read as country-house pieces, dealer shorthand for a domestic estate chest that stayed put. Carrying handles at the ends are common to both.

How old are the chests that come to market?

The dated field leans on broad labels. 19th Century and Victorian together carry the bulk, with 18th Century and Georgian behind them. Only twenty-six of a hundred and twelve listings give a clean year, and those run 1750 to 1930. Decade tags are thin and scattered, and a few dated entries disagree with their own titles.

Do painted or decorated silver chests exist?

They do, but they are the exception. Hand-painted decoration is recorded on two chests, one folk art mahogany and one estate-made early Victorian. Other one-offs in the archive include an inlaid mahogany chest on stand, a chinoiserie lacquered mule chest, an Irish mahogany chest and an aluminium Continental shipping trunk.

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Antique Silver Chests

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A silver chest is a lidded wooden trunk, usually strapped with metal and handled at each end, made to keep a household's silver and plate together at home or on the move.