Images(10)

Box

Date1820-1850

OriginAmerica, New England (probably)

MediumWood and paint.

DimensionsOverall: 9 1/4 x 12 x 4 1/2in. (23.5 x 30.5 x 11.4cm)

Credit LineGift of Ellin and Baron Gordon

Object number2002.708.4

DescriptionRectangular wooden box with dovetailed sides, bottom butt jointed and nailed at back, lapped and nailed at front, lid lapped and nailed construction with two metal hinges at back. All surfaces painted black; bronze and gold hand painted chinoiserie designs on each exterior panel and stenciled theorem-style designs on each interior panel. Exterior top of lid is outlined in thick gold band with central scene of two pagoda style structures separated by a bridge over water with a small boat, a large stylized willow tree and other smaller foliage fill in the background; exterior of proper left side painted with similar design of two pagoda structures separated by a bridge over water with a large willow tree on the left of the bridge; proper right side mimics this scene with two pagoda structures separated by a bridge over water but with the willow tree on the right of the bridge, both sides outlined in thick gold band and neither features a boat; the exterior front of the box is painted in the same style with thick gold outline and central scene of two chinoiserie structures split by a bridge over water, this panel includes a small boat and a figure on the bridge with two different types of willow trees in the background; the back panel features multiple different types of willow trees and foliage flanking a small center bridge (no pagodas); bottom is painted plain black; interior underside of lid is stenciled with large dish of fruit in center surrounded by flowers, leaves, and stylized floral details in the style of a theorem painting; the interior back panel features a similar theorem-style stenciled peach in the center of other stylized fruit against a spray of large leaves; the interior side panels are both stenciled with the same abstract leaf and floral chain motif; interior front panel stenciled with design of large leaves and grapes, covered over with hand painted yellow swirls and decorative lines; bottom of interior has thick gold band at bottom underneath a layered stenciled design of fruit, flowers, and leaves in the same theorem-based style as the lid.Label TextThis painted box combines stenciled and free-hand decoration on its exterior as well as its interior surfaces. Chinoiserie designs, present on the exterior of the box, were popular in America from the seventeenth century through the nineteenth century. This type of bronze painted decoration on a black background mimics the appearance of Asian lacquer work. The stenciled floral motifs on the interior of the box reflect the prevalence of that type of decoration on wooden objects, such as chairs, looking glasses, and chests during the mid-nineteenth century. One finds similar designs as those on the interior to theorem paintings of the period.