Trunks & Chests

A dowry trunk, packed, strapped and carried to a new house. Antique trunks and chests come from China, Tibet, Mongolia, Burma, Thailand, Japan, India, Ghana, Morocco and Mauritania, made in elm, pine, cedar and leather, with brass and iron fittings and coats of lacquer. Chinese trunks served for dowries and travel, some painted with dragons, birds and flowers, others plain leather over wood; Tibetan and Mongolian chests carry painted Buddhist motifs; carved cedar chests come from the Swat Valley of Pakistan. Moroccan and Mauritanian chests, Ashanti and Akan boxes from Ghana and Burmese storage boxes add pierced metal, studs and inlay.

Many sit on stands, at end-table height. A trunk at the foot of a bed holds blankets; a pair flanking a sofa works as side tables; stacked, they make a low tower in a stairwell or dressing room. Luggage that stayed put.