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.

1900 - 1920

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Arts & Crafts Oak Coffer

From Worboys Antiques

£395

1 MONTH AGO

chests

19th century

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Unrestored Early Louis Vuitton Trunk

From Treehouse Antiques

£2,250

1 MONTH AGO

chests

19th century

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Early Welsh Pine Chest

From Sussex Antiques and Interiors

£595

1 MONTH AGO

chests

19th century

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Cromwellian Marquetry Coffer Dated 1658

From Webberley Antiques

£1,250

1 MONTH AGO

chests

Superb Patina and Provenance Welsh Oak Coffer C.1680

17th century

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Superb Patina and Provenance Welsh Oak Coffer C.1680

From Webberley Antiques

£980

1 MONTH AGO

chests

19th century

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Padouk Zanzibar Blanket or Storage Box

From Malcolm Eglin Antiques

£485

1 MONTH AGO

chests

Antique Mahogany & Iron Bound Trunk C.1850

19th century

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Antique Mahogany & Iron Bound Trunk C.1850

From The Old Cinema

£685

1 MONTH AGO

chests

18th century

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Mid-18th-century Scandinavian Trunk

From School House Antiques

£495

1 MONTH AGO

chests

18th century

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18th Century Swedish Folk Art Trunk

From School House Antiques

£785

1 MONTH AGO

chests

Late 16th / Early 17th Century Flemish Oak Coffer Circa 1600

16th century

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Late 16th / Early 17th Century Flemish Oak Coffer Circa 1600

From School House Antiques

£750

1 MONTH AGO

chests

Regional naming is a habit here: Welsh appears in 28 storage trunk titles on Sellingantiques, alongside single examples from Snowdonia, Westmorland, the Gower peninsula and Ottery St Mary.

18th century

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Antique Carved and Inlaid Oak Coffer

From Penderyn Antiques

£695

1 MONTH AGO

chests

18th century

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18th Century Oak Coffer

From Sinclairs Antiques and Interiors

£650

1 MONTH AGO

chests

Beautiful Painted Pine Chest with Hand Forged Iron Strapwork

19th century

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Beautiful Painted Pine Chest with Hand Forged Iron Strapwork

From Rams Head Antiques

£485

1 MONTH AGO

chests

19th century

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Camphor Wood Military Campaign Trunk

From Philip Hunt Antiques

£1,195

1 MONTH AGO

chests

17th century

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17th Century Oak Coffer

From Elaine Phillips Antiques Ltd

£750

1 MONTH AGO

chests

18th century

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18th Century Welsh Oak Coffer Bach

From Abersoch Antiques

£1,950

1 MONTH AGO

chests

← 1 ... 4 5 6 7 8 ... 48 →

Antique Storage Trunks

Arts & Crafts Oak Coffer

Unrestored Early Louis Vuitton Trunk

Early Welsh Pine Chest

Cromwellian Marquetry Coffer Dated 1658

Superb Patina and Provenance Welsh Oak Coffer C.1680

Padouk Zanzibar Blanket or Storage Box

Antique Mahogany & Iron Bound Trunk C.1850

Mid-18th-century Scandinavian Trunk

18th Century Swedish Folk Art Trunk

Late 16th / Early 17th Century Flemish Oak Coffer Circa 1600

Antique Carved and Inlaid Oak Coffer

18th Century Oak Coffer

Beautiful Painted Pine Chest with Hand Forged Iron Strapwork

Camphor Wood Military Campaign Trunk

17th Century Oak Coffer

18th Century Welsh Oak Coffer Bach

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