Two tin chests from about 1600

woody50

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Jun 21, 2007
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I have a number of nice finds, but two that I really like are these two tin chests. I found them about 2 meters deep in the mud and black organic ground where a underground parking place was being built in one of the small towns near where I live, a number of years ago.

They were NOT in the condition you see in the photo, they were flatten out to about 1/2 inch, just smashed together because of the weight at that depth. It took me and my restorer about a month to get both of them back to (almost) their original shape, working with boiling water, wow! was that hot....

They have been determined to be about from the 1600-1650 period, although no other chest has turned up here for comparison, not even in museums.

Not large, they are 52mm x 30mm and about 55mm tall. Originally the inside of the chests were lined with what is here called Latoenkoper, in English that is brass-lamella. A few of the sheets on the side walls were still intact, but the most had gone. You can see a little if you look carefully at the 'before' photo. The copper is very thin, from about 0.02 to 0.1mm thick, so it was amazing that anything at all was left. These sheets were about 0.08mm thick.

The first photo shows one of the chests after the mud and gook was sprayed out, but before we restored it.
The second photo shows both of the chests in my display case.

What they were used for is still a mystery. In one of the chests we discovered a small pin. So a possible use could have been to hold pins, for say a dressmaker. An other idea is a child's toy. The one on the right has be valued at 4000 euros, the on the left at 3500 euros.
 

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DCMatt said:
DCMatt said:
These boxes may have been perfume burners. Do a little research and look at some of the pictures on-line.
Yours are amazing!
DCMatt


By the museum that I went to here in Hoorn awhile back, the curator told me that he has seen a few small chests like mine, only that they were made from silver, and used by rich people who filled them with silver coins in those days and gave them to the brides father. Is a name for that but I can't think of it... But he had never seen such chests that I have, and didn't know their use.
 

Hello All... I was just searching for stuff on the net in Holland and I came across this object that was found in Holland.
It appears to be a sort of folding pattern, that you can fold into a shape. I don't believe that my chests were mad in such a way, but could have been. Just for your information...

What does it say:

Chest pattern
Age 14/15th century
Unusual The left side of the Chest (the side of the chest) is broken off.
Material Lead/Tin
Found at Borsele, The Netherlands
 

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Very Very nice job on recovering/restoring those two tin chests! I am amazed at what you guys did! Must of took you a very long time! :)
 

Detectingfreak said:
Very Very nice job on recovering/restoring those two tin chests! I am amazed at what you guys did! Must of took you a very long time! :)

Two people working almost every day one month. Don't know how many hours... Was glad when it was done.
 

archaeon said:
i have a few questions about your awesome chests.
1. are the wheel designs on the front ships wheels with rope going around them?
2. does it look like they were lined with anything? too keep small stuff from falling through the holes? are there any indications on the inside of them that a lining was attached?
3. could you post some close-up pics of the design work and the insides of them?

i have been racking my brain as to what they are, it drives me nuts!
great find and incredible restoration.
Hi Acchaeon, didn't have much time today again, not to search either. Company! But I just took one photo of the 'wheels' on the chest. I don't really think now that they are a ship wheel, just a sort of pattern.... But not sure either. Photo is not great, had to use artifical light..
 

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thanks! agreed, doesn't look like a ships wheel...i thought it might be nautical in nature...
 

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