Trunk

Trunk

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Description
Black-painted, flat-top box with scrolled hasp lock on front, circular wire ring handle on top, and two hinges at back. Box front is painted with a yellow, dotted and crosshatched, triangular basket filled with pairs of red fruit, red-and-yellow buds, red flowers with yellow dotted and crosshatched centers, and wet-painted, blue-and-white daisies; box sides are plain. Lid has single yellow crossed lines on top and a line-rope-and-dot band on its front and sides, some elements possibly stenciled. One-piece lid has a wire-rolled rim. Three-piece box has a top edge folded with wire bead below and a flat bottom. No marks.
Flat-top, painted tinware trunks are considered to be unique to the Stevens Tinshop of Stevens Plains (now Westbrook), ME, circa 1800-1842. The inverted-triangle basket motif is rare.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
trunk
date made
ca 1800 - 1842
place made
United States: Maine, Westbrook
Physical Description
tinned sheet iron (overall material)
iron wire (rims; handle material)
paint (exterior decoration material)
Measurements
overall: 5 7/8 in x 9 1/8 in x 5 1/4 in; 14.9225 cm x 23.1775 cm x 13.335 cm
ID Number
1978.0119.16
accession number
1978.0119
catalog number
1978.0119.16
See more items in
Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
Domestic Furnishings
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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