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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Mid 19th Century Traditional Swedish Painted Coffer

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£1,895

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

19th century

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Anglo-indian Iron Bound Coffer

From Arcadia Antiques

£1,495

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

19th century

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Chip Carved Coffer

From Arcadia Antiques

£895

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

Very Large Antique Chinese Campaign Trunk

19th century

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Very Large Antique Chinese Campaign Trunk

From John Howkins Antiques

£1,175

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

Antique Victorian Large Rustic Teak Gerobog Marriage Chest on Wheels

19th century

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Antique Victorian Large Rustic Teak Gerobog Marriage Chest on Wheels

From Abacus Antiques

£995

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

19th century

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Small Swedish Log Bin

From Arcadia Antiques

£750

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

Antique Carpenter's Chest, English, Pine, Tool Trunk, Coffee Table, Victorian

19th century

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Antique Carpenter's Chest, English, Pine, Tool Trunk, Coffee Table, Victorian

From London Fine Antiques

£1,195

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

17th century

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17th Century Small Oak Coffer

From Elaine Phillips Antiques Ltd

£650

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

17th century

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Small 17th Century Oak Coffer

From Holmes Antiques

£1,400

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

17th century

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Oak Coffer

From Midwinter Antiques

£1,150

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

Around 85 storage trunks are listed on Sellingantiques each year, and 207 different dealers have handled them - one of the widest dealer bases of any furniture form.

17th century

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A Rare Early 17th Century Walnut Gilded Italian Cassone

From Pendle Antiques

£3,650

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

1900 - 1920

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Old Pine Dome Top Chest Trunk

From Pinefinders

£347

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

18th century

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18th Century Oak Mule Chest

From Martlesham Antiques

£1,550

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

Small Welsh Elizabethan Carved Oak Chest

16th century

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Small Welsh Elizabethan Carved Oak Chest

From WelshAntiques

£3,700

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

19th century

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Early 19th Century Swedish Painted Blanket Box

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£995

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

17th century

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17th Century Antique Carved Oak Coffer

From Martlesham Antiques

£1,350

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

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Antique Storage Trunks

Mid 19th Century Traditional Swedish Painted Coffer

Anglo-indian Iron Bound Coffer

Chip Carved Coffer

Very Large Antique Chinese Campaign Trunk

Antique Victorian Large Rustic Teak Gerobog Marriage Chest on Wheels

Small Swedish Log Bin

Antique Carpenter's Chest, English, Pine, Tool Trunk, Coffee Table, Victorian

17th Century Small Oak Coffer

Small 17th Century Oak Coffer

Oak Coffer

A Rare Early 17th Century Walnut Gilded Italian Cassone

Old Pine Dome Top Chest Trunk

18th Century Oak Mule Chest

Small Welsh Elizabethan Carved Oak Chest

Early 19th Century Swedish Painted Blanket Box

17th Century Antique Carved Oak Coffer

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