Carved, walnut coffer, France, 1480-1520

Northern French. Coffer of walnut wood. The front is carved with a row of five round-headed arches, outlined by bands of ornament and supported on ornamental columns; the spaces within the arches are filled with Gothic tracery and two shields of arms, now defaced. The spandrels are filled with floral ornament, and the whole rests on a plinth decorated with (in front) a band of interlacing strapwork. There is a shield-shaped lock-plate of wrought iron decorated with pierced Gothic tracery and foliage, and the ends with floral ornaments. The top is modern.

Acquired from Emile Peyre of 146 Avenue Malakoff, Paris, at the price of £250
Condition: "much wormeaten, split and worn. There is a hole in one of the panels.'

Listed in Peyre's house as no. 33 "Large carved wooden Gothic coffer with its original base or stand" in a typed version of the 'Inventory of the contents rooms [sic] containing that part of Monsieur Peyre's Collection, iron-work and wood-work which he is willing to sell. The rooms are all on the ground floor of the house.' The inventory is numbered 1-329, with description and price, arranged by room; it was drawn up in early March 1895 by Thomas Armstrong (Director for Art 1881-98) and Caspar Purdon Clarke (Assistant Director and from 1896 Director of the Art Museum, later Director of the Metropolitan Museum, New York).

Located in the room marked G in an annotated sketch plan of the ground floor of Peyre's house, which apparently accompanied a letter dated 28/2/1895 from Armstrong to Major General Sir John Donnelly (secretary of the Science and Art Department).

This chest was one of the items Peyre omitted from the sale list during the negotiations, subsequently reinstated at request of the Museum.

494-1895