Dowry Blanket Chest

[snakes]

Hello I'm hoping someone could give me any information on a chest I purchased, the age, origin, value ?
It has no nails or screws and has Dovetail joins, someone added Cedar wood to the inside at a later date, the hinges look like a type of Cotter pin style and it has Iron handles at each end, the lock has a skeleton key.
Thank you for any info       

[mart]

Hi there and welcome to the forum !!  Interesting chest !!  Would you mind getting a good clear shot of the front from a more level viewpoint !! Need to see the painted area clearly !!    Also a good close pic of the dovetail joints if possible !! Am I correct that only the lower portion is painted and the top is just wood ??

[snakes]

Hello & thank you for your reply, I believe the top of the chest is painted.

[jacon4]

Second half 18th century, southern Germany or northern Swiss/Austrian border. The cedar lining hurts the value and the paint looks newer on the lid which means probably the chest has been repainted. The dovetails are wedged, no glue, which is most likely a shop tradition in that area. Value i would guess $500-$1000 or so. I'd remove that cedar lining if possible.

[Ipcress]

That's a beauty !

I'd have said European, c1770 and worth several hundred pounds.

[jacon4]

Yeah, what Ipcress said. I just assumed poster was in USA, i have no clue what the value would be in europe.

[Ipcress]

And I agree about the lid - that style is more reminiscent of early to mid 18th century and might even have been applied a touch later by someone attempting to match with the main body.

Still nice. I love stuff like that. The Norwegians were great at it.

[jacon4]

The Norwegians were great at it.

Ditto Swedish chests, there is a dealer who specializes in these european chests, she usually has more available on her website but this gives an idea of origin, value.
http://www.cupboardsandroses.com/Hope_Chests.php

[snakes]

Thank's for your help, I contacted the person I purchased it from to fined out any info they knew and was told they got it from a couple who had emigrated to Canada in the 1950s and that he was Austrian & she was German
an that they brought the chest with them, so your info rings true. Here are a few pics of the hing.

[jacon4]

Yeah, they are "snipe" or cotter pin  hinges, typical in 18th century  construction. The hardware looks to be original on your chest, not only the hinges but the lock & key & carry handles as well, this helps value.

[jacon4]

It's a very nice period 18th century polychrome chest (3 or more colors) and obviously it's ALL about the paint when it comes to value. Naturally, original paint is more desirable and more valuable. It's usually easy to tell if a piece has been touched up or repainted because old chests should have dings, scratches, abrasions, etc  where you see the wood underneath the paint, if any of those scratches or dings have paint in them.......
Another thing is, the lids usually suffered the most abuse as back in the day they were used for everything, from seats to butchering hogs so it's not surprising that many painted chests this old have little or none of their original decoration on the lid. The fact that this chest seems to have it's original lid, repainted or not, is a plus because many old chests have replaced lids.