With our absolute highest compliments Bay Colony Antiques takes the utmost pleasure in offering this remarkable antique 19th century blanket chest. This particular chest had been in the possession of various Pennsylvania families from the time it was made during the first half of the 19th century until the moment we were fortune enough to purchase it. As with nearly all of the antique blanket boxes we have owned which were built for Pennsylvania households this chest is grander and far superior in construction to similar examples made outside of the Pennsylvania region. This chest is masterfully dovetailed with six solid tulip poplar primary boards used to form the body of the chest. This dovetail work is most notable on the underside and on the single backboard of the chest with each of the boards baring the joinery markings of the original craftsman along with centuries of natural oxidation which fully demonstrates the true age of the piece. The interior of the chest features a pair of barrel hinges along with the original locking mechanism and a full size candle till which opens up for candle storage and can prop the lid open when the lid of the candle till is opened and the lid of the blanket box is leaning downward upon it.
The most important feature of this antique blanket chest is the wonderful grain painted surface which has remained in such exceptional condition. A variety of techniques were used to apply this painted surface to the box including the practice of sponge decoration where a small sponge applicator is used to create a free flowing pattern and texture to the surface. The color of the chest is closest to a faux tortoiseshell with tremendous vibrancy not fully captured in each of our photos. We note that the chest appears darker in several photos and lacking the vibrancy which appears fully under natural sunlight. A variety of different paint colors are used upon each other to produce a variation in color and give the surface a depth of character. The entirety of the paint decoration was meticulously applied by a master artisan centuries ago. We ask anyone considering this chest to review all of our photographs as there is a vibrancy of color not fully captured in every photo due to the lighting conditions we had when the pictures were taken. The close up photos provide a clearer depiction of the true color and character of the surface as some of the primary photos appear too dark in tone and much of the subtler paint work is obscured by this darker color. We do our absolute best to provide our customers with honest and accurate photos of whatever we offer and quite often we fall short in capturing the full beauty of our antiques. We feel it is better to show up to a home with a piece which is more attractive than what our photos represent versus making enhancements to our pictures. One remark we never get tired of hearing is that our pieces are so much nicer in person than how they appeared online. The blanket chest is supported on four turned ball feet which are completely original and demonstrate the overall age of the painted surface as they have worn in places from being handled and lack any earlier surface painting which would be detectable under or around the turnings. The blanket chest measures 46 3/4" wide x 19" deep x 24 1/4" tall overall.
