Description
Country House Period Oak Antique Mule Chest
This stunning 18th century Country House Period Oak Antique Mule Chest dates from ca. 1780. It is of neat proportions with lots of storage space and is an unusual design. It has a moulded lid with deep interior. The front of this lovely period antique chest has four moulded panels with fine inlay along with two working drawers with decorative brass handles. It stands on raised feet, has paneled sides and splits into two sections for ease of removal. This country house chest comes with wonderful genuine charm, character and the Oak has aged to a warm shade with a striking grain, good patina, is in very good condition and has been beautifully cleaned using a traditional form of wax finishing.
Approximate Dimensions are:
Height: 83 cm / 33 inches
Width: 111 cm / 43.5 inches
Depth: 56 cm / 22 inches
Ref No: 08857
Please click on antique furniture image for larger photo.
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What is an Antique Mule Chest?
Antique Mule Chests were a form of Coffer, primitively built using old clout nails or wooden pegs and having a hinged lid. The difference between them, is they have two or three drawers at the bottom of the wooden box due to the impracticality of difficult to reach items stored at the bottom of the coffer. Antique Mule Chests were most popular in the early to mid 17th Century in Oak and were often used to store clothes, linens, harness equipment or valuables and all had a large key with lock, although it is quite unusual to find them still with their original key. These early pieces of period furniture always have a lovely charm about them from years of use and a build up of wax giving them a glowing patina. The best examples always have the original pin hinges, along with oak base boards and candle box with lift up lid in the interior. They will stand on tall raised feet called ‘stiles’ and have a panelled or carved front. Earlier examples will have a raised, fielded panel with Mahogany cross banded edging. Some have the dates carved onto the top rail with two initials, this was called a ‘marriage chest’.
