Coffer
ca. 1500 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The stout dovetail joints, thick planks and evidence of a deep-set iron lock (now missing), all suggest that this coffer was intended to keep valuables secure. The choice of a religious subject for the carved front panel would have been appropriate for either a domestic and ecclesicastical setting. The front panels of this coffer show the Annunciation, probably derived from a painted or printed source. The angel Gabriel offers to Mary a lily, symbolic of her purity. Between the two figures a vase of lillies is interrupted by the placement of the lock. The maker chose a close-grained wood, possibly pearwood, which permitted considerable carved detail in high relief.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Possibly pearwood, of dovetailed construction with carved decoration |
| Brief description | Pearwood coffer, Netherlandish or Northern France, ca. 1500, carved with a scene of the Annunciation |
| Physical description | Coffer of carved pearwood. The top is formed of two boards and has a thumb moulding at the front and shaped side pieces below the ends which have been slightly reduced in length. The front is attached to the sides by large V-shaped dovetails and divided by mouldings into three panels carved with ‘The Annunciation’. On the right is the angel Gabriel kneeling and holding an object resembling a halberd. In the centre is a lily-pot the Emblem of the Virgin, and on the left is the Virgin kneeling at a desk. The ends of the coffer are carved with a diaper pattern. The bottom is missing, deal boards were substituted which have since been replaced by pearwood after the arrival of this piece at the museum. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Bought for £40 from Mrs A.M. Wakeley, 10 Beechborough Villas, Shorncliffe Road, Folkstone, Kent (RF 45/1113) Location history: 1970 in room 26 1984 in North Court Lock Up 1992 in gallery 29 2002 in gallery 28 2004 removed to Blythe House store |
| Production | Netherlands or Northern France |
| Summary | The stout dovetail joints, thick planks and evidence of a deep-set iron lock (now missing), all suggest that this coffer was intended to keep valuables secure. The choice of a religious subject for the carved front panel would have been appropriate for either a domestic and ecclesicastical setting. The front panels of this coffer show the Annunciation, probably derived from a painted or printed source. The angel Gabriel offers to Mary a lily, symbolic of her purity. Between the two figures a vase of lillies is interrupted by the placement of the lock. The maker chose a close-grained wood, possibly pearwood, which permitted considerable carved detail in high relief. |
| Bibliographic reference | Charles Tracy, Church Furniture in England – A Traffic in Piety (Woodbridge, 2001), F/7, p.150-1
This chest is of boarded construction, with the sides dovetailed into the front and back panels. There is a deeply excavated space for a lock plate and mechanism, but this is now missing. There are security batons at each end of the lid. The front board displays a high-relief carving of the Annunciation with the lily pot in the centre. The sides are pseudo-panelled in diaper-work. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.12-1945 |
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| Record created | June 1, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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