SAPFM Museum Furniture Collection

Box

Artist unknown (American, 17th–18th century)

Box, Artist unknown (American, 17th–18th century), 1650–1700, Red oak and eastern white pine
Maker
Artist unknown (American, 17th–18th century)
Date
1650–1700
Medium
Red oak and eastern white pine
Dimensions
24.8 × 63.5 × 45.7 cm (9 3/4 × 25 × 18 in.)
Form
Case Piece
Origin
Eastern Massachusetts
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession
1946.564
Credit line
Wirt D. Walker Fund
The most common object in a colonial home, a small, lidded rectangular storage box would have held personal articles, such as household items, writing implements, or a Bible. They were decorated simply, usually only on the front, with stylized plants or vegetation and geometric lines. The initials "M P," carved in the center of the box, are presumably those of the original owner.
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