Posted 12 years ago
ksf7777
(3 items)
Hi again,
I just picked this up today from an junk shop in the country , will have it delivered to me in about two weeks , I love it .
It is an old trunk ca 1700 , has only a small lid on top , big enough for a person to fit into, has secret doors on the front and side , locks with chain from outside and has two locks on the inside ? , Would love to know what this chest was for and why can it be locked from the inside, It is of good wood and hand made nails with metal on all corners .
Measures about 110 cm or43 inch high
140 cm or 55 inch wide
I think it was made Holland east indies ????
If anybody knows anything about this chest i would like to read about it .
Cheers to all _ Steve aka ksf7777
very cool!
i saw a similar, enormous one today at an antique store in san francisco which stated that it was an old trunk from India.
Thanks for that. Did the shop owner tell you why it can be locked from tje inside .?
I just bought one very similar at an antique store. Did some research and was told it is probably an Indian dowry chest and was meant to hold valuables- hence the lock. Not sure why it locks from the inside. I don't know if the one I have does that or not- we are waiting to pick it up this weekend. see my pictures here: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/79248-indian-dowry-chest
You hit the nail on the head, I did some research and found the you are right about the trunk,
I still dont know why it has a lock on the inside but i did find out why it has two steel rings on one side only,
Back in the days in india this trunk would have sat on the veranda of the house and it would be chained to the wall through the steel rings as to stop anybody from trying to steel it .
Cheers Steve