What is the difference between a coffer and a trunk?

Coffer is the word used for an early lidded chest, usually oak, boarded or joined and panelled, and it appears in 271 titles. These were domestic pieces for linen, blankets and valuables. Trunk in this category leans towards travel: leather, canvas, hide and metal-bound boxes made for the coach, ship and rail, plus campaign trunks made for military service. Bound appears in 43 titles, campaign in 40.

Why are so many of these described only by century?

The structured dated field runs from 1680 to 1940, but only 174 of 789 listings carry a clean year. Century labels fill the gap: 19th Century on 160, 17th Century on 103, 18th Century on 90. Reign and era words do the rest, with Victorian on 69 and Georgian on 44. Decade tags are thin and late, so 19th Century or Victorian works as a bracket rather than a date.

What is a mule chest?

A coffer with one or more drawers built into the base. It sits between the plain lidded chest and the chest of drawers, and the term appears in 64 titles. Samples run from two-drawer pine through to three-drawer Georgian oak and mahogany.

Are camphor wood chests common in this category?

Camphor is the signature imported timber, named 58 times across its spellings, and it is almost always paired with brass fittings or campaign use. The aromatic wood was used for insect-proof storage of textiles. Teak appears in 20 titles, Chinese in 20 and Indian in 18. These came home through trade and military service, alongside Zanzibar, Ceylonese, Korean and Japanese pieces.

How big do these chests get?

Size language cuts both ways. Eighty titles say large, reaching monumentally large and enormous, while 52 say small. At the smaller end sit miniature Welsh coffer bach barely bigger than a box, and deed boxes. Silver chests, iron- or steel-bound oak boxes for plate, are a distinct minor line at 21 titles.

Does painted pine sell alongside the oak?

It does. Pine appears in 114 titles and painted in 61, taking in Scottish and Welsh kists, Victorian stripped pine and Continental painted work. Scandinavian painted chests are a recognisable seam, with 16 titles naming Swedish pieces plus Scandinavian, Danish, Alpine, Hungarian and Romanian marriage and dome-top chests. Within that group, original paint sits at the higher end.

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Antique Storage Trunks

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A lidded box for linen, blankets, plate or the road, most often an oak coffer or blanket chest, sometimes a bound travelling trunk or a camphor-wood chest brought home from the East.

19th century

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Large 19th Century Painted Marriage Trunk

From TallBoy Interiors

£3,695

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19th century

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Padouk Zanzibar Blanket Box

From Sinclairs Antiques and Interiors

£475

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

19th century

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Superb Georgian Elm Blanket Box C.1800

From Charnwood Antiques

£695

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

19th century

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19th Century Victorian Pine Blanket Box

From James R Millington Antiques

£220

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

18th century

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Fine Antique 18th Century French Oak Coffer

From Treasure Trove Worcester Ltd

£2,500

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

1920 - 1940

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Large Solid Oak Carved Coffer

From Worboys Antiques

£425

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

Early 19th.c. China Trade Camphor Wood & Leather Campaign Trunk

19th century

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Early 19th.c. China Trade Camphor Wood & Leather Campaign Trunk

From John Howkins Antiques

£975

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

1900 - 1920

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Dark Oak Carved Coffer

From Worboys Antiques

£375

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

18th century

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Early 18th Century Carved Oak Coffer

From Carse Antiques

£395

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

Antique Victorian Pine Blanket Box | Side Handles | Af-6581

19th century

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Antique Victorian Pine Blanket Box | Side Handles | Af-6581

From ActFurniture LTD

£325

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

Forms that turned up once and never again: a Japanese wheeled kuruma-dansu, a Korean elm bandaji, a French elm cannonball box and a 17th century oak sword chest.

19th century

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Large Anglo Indian Campaign

From John Howkins Antiques

£795

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

17th century

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17th Century Oak Coffer

From Stalham Antique Gallery

£490

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

17th century

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Exceptional Quality 17th Century Antique Oak Mule Chest with Marquetry Inlay

From London City Antiques

£2,250

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

Antique Oak Blanket Box | Carved Front and Sides | Af-6585

1900 - 1920

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Antique Oak Blanket Box | Carved Front and Sides | Af-6585

From ActFurniture LTD

£585

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

Antique Military Campaign Camphorwood Trunk Coffer C1840 19th C

19th century

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Antique Military Campaign Camphorwood Trunk Coffer C1840 19th C

From Regent Antiques

£1,650

2 WEEKS AGO

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17th century

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Coffer Rare 17th Century Welsh Oak Gower Peninsula C1670

From Cloverleaf Home Interiors

£895

2 WEEKS AGO

chests

← 1 2 3 4 5 ... 48 →

Antique Storage Trunks

Large 19th Century Painted Marriage Trunk

Padouk Zanzibar Blanket Box

Superb Georgian Elm Blanket Box C.1800

19th Century Victorian Pine Blanket Box

Fine Antique 18th Century French Oak Coffer

Large Solid Oak Carved Coffer

Early 19th.c. China Trade Camphor Wood & Leather Campaign Trunk

Dark Oak Carved Coffer

Early 18th Century Carved Oak Coffer

Antique Victorian Pine Blanket Box | Side Handles | Af-6581

Large Anglo Indian Campaign

17th Century Oak Coffer

Exceptional Quality 17th Century Antique Oak Mule Chest with Marquetry Inlay

Antique Oak Blanket Box | Carved Front and Sides | Af-6585

Antique Military Campaign Camphorwood Trunk Coffer C1840 19th C

Coffer Rare 17th Century Welsh Oak Gower Peninsula C1670

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