Object Number 1959.2025

Object Name

Box (Trunk)

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Place of Origin

Probably Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Origin Notes

Probable origin Pennsylvania, per previous cataloguer. Possibly Connecticut.

Date

1830-1860

Materials

Tinned sheet iron; Iron wire; Paint; Brass

Techniques

Japanned

Dimensions (inches)

5.75 (H) , 6.9 (L) , 5.2 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

14.61 (H) , 17.5 (L) , 13.1 (W)

Object Description

Web - 05/30/2014

The vivid red and yellow hues of this painted tinware box add interest to an otherwise utilitarian object. Cut and pieced from sheet iron coated with tin, this box with a hinged lid was one form among many produced by 19th century tinsmiths to supply items needed for storage, drinking, lighting and display. Such tinware became a three dimensional canvas for a professional or amateur painter. The bright red ground was chosen to evoke Asian lacquer wares imported in from China, but this colorful coating served more than aesthetics, it also protected the iron from wear and rust. American tinware was made in manufactories and distributed across the eastern United States in great quantities during the 1800s. This box is decorated with characteristics that suggest it may have been made at one of the Filley family workshops either in Philadelphia or Connecticut.