What is an antique blanket coffer?

An antique blanket coffer is a heavy wooden chest traditionally built to store household textiles, linens, and garments. These pieces range from primitive six-plank boards to panelled oak boxes and brass-bound travel trunks. They served essential storage functions in domestic interiors before evolving into decorative furniture utilised for seating and display in modern hallways and living rooms.

How do I date an oak coffer?

Dating an oak coffer relies on examining the construction methods, tool marks, and decorative carving styles present on the panels and frame. Seventeenth-century examples typically show pegged joinery, hand-riven timber surfaces, and distinct geometric or strapwork carving. Later eighteenth and nineteenth-century pieces often incorporate machine-sawn elements, simpler mouldings, and standardised hardware that reflect industrial woodworking shifts.

Were these chests used for travel?

Certain coffers and chests were specifically built for travel, notably nineteenth-century campaign trunks fashioned from camphor wood, leather, and brass. These boxes were constructed to withstand long journeys by ship and land for military officers. Domestic oak coffers, however, remained stationary furniture fixtures within the home, designed to protect heavy woollen blankets from moths and dampness.

How do I use a coffer today?

Blanket coffers function naturally at the foot of a bed or beneath a window as a dual-purpose seat and storage container for spare duvets and cushions. Their flat wooden lids also make them suitable for use as low coffee tables in living spaces. Placing them away from direct heat sources and radiators protects the aged timber from drying out and splitting over time.

Home > Blanket Coffer > Page 24

Antique Blanket Coffer

821 items · page 24 of 52

← Page 24 of 52 →

An antique blanket coffer is a sturdy lidded chest designed for household storage, offering centuries of joinery skill and rich domestic history for modern interiors.

1900 - 1920

Save

A Fine Wooden ‘The Marshall’ Sea Chest

From The Dorking Desk Shop

£375

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

19th century

Save

19th-century Indian Teak Storage Chest

From Sinclairs Antiques and Interiors

£475

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

18th century

Save

18th Century Oak Panelled Coffer with Candle Box, Circa 1780

From Salisbury Antiques Centre

£575

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

17th century

Save

17th Century or Earlier Italian Gilt Gothic Decorated Walnut Cassone Chest

From Kendall House Antiques Ltd.

£8,000

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

17th century

Save

17th Century Oak & Inlaid Marquetry Coffer / Mule Chest

From Dickinsons Antiques

£2,600

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

18th century

Save

18th Century Oak Coffer

From Sinclairs Antiques and Interiors

£375

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

19th century

Save

Large 19th Century American Military Camphor Campaign Trunk

From S and S Timms Antiques Ltd

£2,750

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

19th century

Save

A Fine and Very Large 19th Century Country House Ottoman

From Salisbury Antiques Centre

£2,500

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

18th century

Save

18th Century Oak Panelled Coffer with Candle Box, Circa 1780

From Salisbury Antiques Centre

£575

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

A Large and Substantial Iron and Wood Strongbox C. 1800

19th century

Save

A Large and Substantial Iron and Wood Strongbox C. 1800

From Rob Hall Antiques

£495

3+ MONTHS AGO

chests

Camphor wood trunks smell delightfully of moth-deterring forests, whispering of nineteenth-century voyages across distant seas every time you lift the lid.