Antiques: A Hope Chest Full of History

Swedish Hope Chest, $995

This fantastic chest is just one of several new items at on Charles Street.

“It’s hard to say exactly what it was used for, but you can think of it as either a trunk or a hope chest,” Kilroy said. “I’m leaning towards the latter.” Kilroy brought the Swedish piece back from his most recent trip abroad.

“It’s well over 200 years old – definitely 18^th century,” he said. The piece measures 43” wide by 24.5” deep and 19” high.

Kilroy went on to explain that the piece had feet at one time that have since been removed, letting the chest sit flush on the floor. He described the rustic mural on the inside of the lid as having a rococo style and said the evidence of the piece’s age is in the intricacies of the hardware, the exposed, dovetailed corners and thickness/grain of the pine wood.

“The space on the inside left with the slat that holds the lid open is called the ‘till.’ It’s so well cared for, I’m thinking it may have sat in a barn for years, untouched. You could use it in the hallway or at the end of a bed.”