Travelling Trunk
1680-1700 (made), 1740-1760 (made)
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Seventeenth-century trunks continued the tradition of fifteenth and sixteenth-century coffers and were covered with leather and garnished with nails and with pierced openwork mounts protecting the angles and corners. The tradition of covering trunks with leather and decorating them with nails continued well until the nineteenth century when new methods of productions and materials brought to a close the coffer and trunk-maker’s ancient handicraft.
Trunks of a similar shape and decoration were made by Richard Pigge, coffer-maker to Charles II and William III, and later Edward Smith, trunk-maker to George II. In the seventeenth century, the term ‘coffer’ was gradually superseded by that of ‘trunk’, hence the change of appellation from coffer to trunk-maker.
Trunks of a similar shape and decoration were made by Richard Pigge, coffer-maker to Charles II and William III, and later Edward Smith, trunk-maker to George II. In the seventeenth century, the term ‘coffer’ was gradually superseded by that of ‘trunk’, hence the change of appellation from coffer to trunk-maker.
Object details
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| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | <b>Structure and materials </b>
The stand is made of mahogany. The base and lid of the trunk are made of softwood. The leather is nailed to the trunk, which was the traditional method of applying leather. It runs over the top of the lid and sides. The leather cannot be identified due to the residues of surface treatments, but it may be bovine.
The bottom of the trunk is made of two wide planks. The interior timber consists of pine with the end panels extending on the sides, and straight at the front to fit the shape of the lid. They cover the whole length of the base of the trunk and the lid. The curved lid is made of angled planks.
The inside of the trunk is lined with fabric. It is nailed to the trunk on a pink ribbon along the corners / angles and along the upper edge of the base. The lid is also lined with fabric, a pink ribbon is nailed on the inside, forming a repeating diamond-shaped pattern. A white ribbon is sewed on the right hand side of the base to the right hand side of the lid. The internal sides of the lid and the vertically protruding external sides of the base of the trunk are lined with marbled paper.
The trunk bears a total of twenty four brass mounts and four angle plates. Those would have been made from a stock mould. The engraving on the brass mounts is of good quality and would have been more expensive than the mounts themselves. A significant amount of workmanship went into the mounts and the holes were pierced individually.The engraved decoration would have been quite common and could be found on locks.
The large escutcheon at the front of the trunk is fixed with three large screws and twelve smaller ones. The keyhole is covered with a hinged plate. The engraved decoration was probably executed by a different hand than that responsible for the engravings on the mounts and is of better quality. The escutcheon appears to be of a later date than the rest of the mounts, probably 20 or 30 years later. It could have been a later replacement, and may have been linked to a change of ownership of the chest.
There are two sizes of brass studs, each of approximately 4 mm and 8 mm diameter.
The back mounts have a protective function and prevent damage to the leather on the angles of the trunk.
The side handles would have been made from a stock mould. Similar handles could be found on wine coolers. |
| Brief description | Wooden trunk covered in brown leather, fitted with brass mounts and studded with brass nails forming a pattern of scrolls and tulips. A large brass drop handle is attached to each side of the trunk. |
| Physical description | Travelling trunk, wood covered with leather and studded with brass nails. Two large drop-handle loops for carrying. The mahogany stand has four cabriole legs, each decorated with cabochon cresting enclosed by 'C' curves and flanked by rosettes, terminating in paw feet. Decorative Scheme The top of the slightly coved lid (also called barrel lid) is decorated with a design in brass studs of various sizing forming a pattern of scrolls and tulips in a rectangular frame. The front of the trunk is decorated with a similar scrolling pattern, and is further enriched with angle-plates pierced with geometrical designs. They are engraved with a floral pattern with an etched decoration in between. The trunk is heavily decorated with brass mounts with crowns on the hasps; they bear an engraved floral pattern with a etched decoration similar to that on the angle-plates. In the centre is a large lock plate of scrolled outline and in the shape of two dragons’ heads, also engraved with a floral pattern. The drop-handles on each side of the trunk are set on circular plates with engraved foliate decoration. Summary of later interventions/changes A piece of leather is missing on the bottom left hand side of the base of the trunk and the bottom left hand corner at the back, revealing the softwood structure. The end panels that extend on the sides are probably of a later date than the rest of the trunk as they do not appear on similar trunks of the period. |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the Brigadier Clark Fund through Art Fund |
| Object history | Wooden travelling trunk covered with leather studs & nails, recieved from Lady Teresa Agnew (Melbury House, Dorchester, Devon) and purchased through Brigadier Clarke Bequest for £1,085.25 (RP 83/766). This trunk appears to have been one of a pair, the other was part of the collections at Holland House, Kensington, and was destroyed during World War II. Notes from RP 83/766 Lady Tessa Agnew 51/(3)342 Lord Ilchester (loan) Typed note in Lady Agnew file Records "The trunk was once in the possession of Henry Fox (d.1777, first Baron Holland). Lord Ilchester said that the trunk was originally one of a pair. The other was destroyed in a fire at Holland House during the war". [This chest, or the destroyed pair to it, is illustrated next to the fireplace in the White Parlour of Holland House, in Country Life, June 17th 1905 p.872, and in another photograph of the same room, attrib. to the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments.] 1959 letter, Fladgate & Co refers to "the leather box used by Sir Stephen Fox". This letter is also in the Lord Ilchester file. It says "leather box used by Sir Stephen Fox when he was chancellor". [There is no date or signature on this typewritten note and no details regarding the origin of this information. This information was quoted from the file for the loan by Lord Ilchester & comes from a statement by Lord Ilchester to the V&A.] |
| Historical context | Historical Context Used for the storage of clothes, money, arms, food and other personal property, trunks were indispensable pieces to households. They did not go out of fashion even when chests of drawers and other receptacles for storage became widely used. The most lavish trunks were intended to hold the gala dress of courtiers and ladies of fashion, or the valuable presents received by brides. See: Sheelah Ruggles-Brise: Some 'Royal' Coffers, Connoisseur, August 1952, pp.19-24 R.W.Symonds, "The craft of the coffer and trunk maker in the 17th century", Connoisseur, May 1934, pp.40-6 Historical Significance The function of an object often dictates its design and the choice of its material. The trunk’s domed lid and its leather covering would have made it waterproof. The inclusion of tulips in the decorative scheme was a reflection of contemporary cultural practices: a sought-after luxury item and status symbol, the flower was a favourite decorative motif in the 17th century and could be found adorning a wide range of objects, ranging from ceramics to textiles. Several closely comparable trunks are known. Three similar trunks (apparently without stands) exist at Hardwick Hall (NT: 1127788, 68 x 128cm; 1127784, 68.5 x 127cm; 1127726 71 x 128 x 71cm) although the gilt nails form different scrolling patterns to the V&A piece. They have very similar lock plates and mounts. (examination of photographs would suggest that the engraved decoration on the mounts is different). The drop-handles on the side of one trunk are also identical, but the metal plates differ. Chest at Temple Newsam, Yorkshire formerly at Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, acquired 1999: A similar trunk was at Clandon Park (NT) on the upstairs landing in 1996. Present location unknown. Two other trunks with identical mounts and lock plates but different brass nail decorative patterns were offered for sale at Hotspur Ltd (c1985?), and Mallet’s (Feb. 1995). The Hotspur trunk was dated c. 1690 and attributed to Richard Pigge, Royal coffer-maker. The Mallet's trunk was dated c1670 and attributed to Richard Pigge 'coffer-maker to Charles II'. The lock plates of both trunks bear a similar engraved pattern to the V&A object. 'Exchequer chest' (or turnk) on low, carved mahogany stand, from Stowe Palace, Bucks, with Moss Harris, ill. in 'Antique Furniture and Works of Art' (c.1930). Two 'Exchequer' chests on stands at Lodge Park, Sherborne (Glos.); see The Connoisseur, Feb. 1912, p.84, 90 Trunk on low, carved stand at Chequers, illustrated pl.LXIX, p.135 in Oliver Brackett (revised by H. Clifford Smith), English furniture illustrated. (Spring Books, London, nd). [Originally published under the title of An encyclopaedia of English furniture, London : E. Benn, 1927] |
| Summary | Seventeenth-century trunks continued the tradition of fifteenth and sixteenth-century coffers and were covered with leather and garnished with nails and with pierced openwork mounts protecting the angles and corners. The tradition of covering trunks with leather and decorating them with nails continued well until the nineteenth century when new methods of productions and materials brought to a close the coffer and trunk-maker’s ancient handicraft. Trunks of a similar shape and decoration were made by Richard Pigge, coffer-maker to Charles II and William III, and later Edward Smith, trunk-maker to George II. In the seventeenth century, the term ‘coffer’ was gradually superseded by that of ‘trunk’, hence the change of appellation from coffer to trunk-maker. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.46:1-1983 |
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| Record created | April 3, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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