17th Century Oak Carved Coffer

A 17th century oak coffer, the rectangular hinged plank top…
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A 17th century oak coffer, the rectangular hinged plank top above a carved frieze with guilloche band of flower heads among scrolling and three arched recessed panels each centred with a diamond and between palm leaf stiles, raised on block feet. 116 cm wide, 52 cm deep, 72 cm high

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  • Guilloche - A form of classical decoration consisting of a repeating ornament of interlacing curved bands, sometimes forming circles, and further decorated with rosettes or other flower forms.

    The name is derived from the inventor, French engineer Guillot, who invented a mechanical method of inscribing fine repeating patterns on to metallic surfaces.

    On enamelled items with guilloche decoration, the surface is firstly engraved with the repeating pattern, and then covered with several layers of enamel, each of which is fired.

    Where the item has not been enamelled the form of decoration is usually called "engine turned".
  • Oak - Native to Europe and England, oak has been used for joinery, furniture and building since the beginning of the medieval civilisation. It is a pale yellow in colour when freshly cut and darkens with age to a mid brown colour.

    Oak as a furniture timber was superceded by walnut in the 17th century, and in the 18th century by mahogany,

    Semi-fossilised bog oak is black in colour, and is found in peat bogs where the trees have fallen and been preserved from decay by the bog. It is used for jewellery and small carved trinkets.

    Pollard oak is taken from an oak that has been regularly pollarded, that is the upper branches have been removed at the top of the trunk, result that new branches would appear, and over time the top would become ball-like. . When harvested and sawn, the timber displays a continuous surface of knotty circles. The timber was scarce and expensive and was used in more expensive pieces of furniture in the Regency and Victorian periods.
  • Frieze - An architectural term denoting the flat, shaped or convex horizontal surface of furniture, between the architrave and the cornice, usually found on a cabinet or bookcase, or on desks and tables where it may include drawers, the area between the top and the legs. In ceramics, the term refers to the banding, of usually a repeating pattern, on the rims of plates and vases.
  • Stile - A cabinetmaker's term that refers to the vertical end members of the framework in a panelled item of furniture. The vertical mid-members are known as muntins.
  • Block Feet - Block feet are usually found on square or sometimes tapered legs. Although the basic block foot is square on all sides, there are variations including a tapered block foot, moulded block foot and carved block foot.
  • Panels - Timber pieces, usually of well-figured wood either recessed or applied over the frames of doors and as decoration elsewhere in the carcase of cabinet furniture. The panels may take a variety of shapes rectangular, square, shield shape, oval, half-round or in the form of Egyptian pylons.

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