Document Box (Former Title)
Box (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
During the 17th century, boxes like this one were sometimes placed on top of chests to store small valuables and important documents such as deeds and letters, as well as Bibles. In the absence of official record keepers, Bibles not only served religious and literary purposes but were used as registers of significant family events like births, marriages, and deaths.
Boxes were often included in a young woman’s dowry and, occasionally, inscribed with important dates or initials. Retaining traces of its original reddish brown paint, this box is inscribed with the letters H and S on either side of its keyhole. The carved and incised decoration – tulips and leaves with etched scrolls – was common to objects produced in the Connecticut River Valley (the western part of Connecticut and Massachusetts). Traditional symbols of love, tulips also signified wealth and prosperity.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
