Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2023.13.1 |
Object Name |
Box, Oval |
Description |
Large, red oval box. The sides of the box are red oak and the top and bottom are pine. All the fasteners are iron nails. The hoops that forms the body of the box and the lid are rather thick, tapered at the ends, and fastened with three rows of clenched iron nails. The ends are cut straight. The top and bottom are white pine and are fastened to the hoops with iron nails. The outside of the box is painted red. |
Credit line |
Gift of Richard C. Dabrowski |
Date |
mid-19th Century |
Dimensions |
H-6.5 W-14.375 L-4.375 D-10.5 inches |
Material |
Oak/Iron/Paint |
Place made |
Enfield, NH Shaker Village |
Lexicon category |
2: Building Furnishings |
Lexicon sub-category |
Household Accessory |
Interpretive information |
This large box is unusual in several ways. With its thick, red oak hoops, iron fasteners, and straight-cut hoop ends it leans towards the construction seen in the measures made at Enfield. The oval shape, inletting of pine top and bottom, and lid construction relate to oval boxes made by the Shakers, but it is lacking the common "swallowtail" joints. The box was purchased in Enfield, but there is no known history of oval box manufacture for sale at Enfield Shaker Village. Possibly this box was made by a person familiar with measure making, who copied some aspects of the common oval box form, for use within the community or as gifts. |