19th c. Wedding Chest

Given to a couple at their wedding to hold the linens and the dowry a bride brought with her, a marriage chest like this was one of the great gifts of an old wedding. Found in Béziers and dating to the 19th century, it opens on hand-forged iron straps, an ornate cut-iron lock plate across the front, turned columns at the corners over a scalloped molded base. Made to last a lifetime and locked because what it held was a family's savings in linen and cloth, it was often the first real piece of furniture a couple owned. Sylvie sets it at the foot of a bed or under a window, blankets kept in the deep box and a stack of books and a lamp on the lid.

 

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