It's a lidded wooden coal box with a removable metal liner inside, usually sold with a shovel. The word appears in 26 of the titles on Sellingantiques, and dealers spell it purdonium or perdonium. Many listings use 'scuttle' and 'purdonium' of the same object, so the two words aren't sharply divided in practice.

How old are most antique coal boxes?

The dated listings run from 1850 to 1920, and nothing in the archive is dated earlier. Where a clean year is given, it clusters in the 1880s, 1890s and 1900s. A good share of the dating is a period word rather than a year, with Victorian and 19th Century the two commonest labels. Edwardian appears on a smaller group, Regency on only three.

Which woods were used for coal boxes?

Oak leads, then mahogany and walnut. Rosewood turns up too, often inlaid or with marquetry on the front or lid. Figured timbers appear as a separate note in the descriptions: pollard oak and burr oak are both named, and both sit at the upper end of the sampled range.

Do coal boxes usually come with the shovel?

Often, yes. Shovel appears in ten titles and the phrase 'original liner and shovel' recurs through the descriptions, so the complete box-liner-shovel set is a normal expectation rather than an exception. Where the shovel and liner have survived together, dealers lead on it.

Are brass and copper coal scuttles common?

They're one of the two big blocks in the category. Brass appears in 38 titles and copper in 15, covering buckets, helmet-shaped scuttles and lidded bins. Copper also carries the Arts and Crafts group, in riveted and silvered work and in combinations of copper with wrought iron.

Were any unusual forms of coal box made?

A few. The archive holds a coal bin built as an upholstered stool with needlepoint, a metamorphic inlaid rosewood scuttle, and a fender incorporating a coal box with club seats. There's also a wheeled toleware coal bin, and a Victorian tin tea caddy made in the shape of a coal box.