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Box

Attributed to John Thurston American
1660–85
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 708
Small, rectangular oak boxes with hinged lids were common in seventeenth-century households, where they held important items such as documents, writing implements, books, jewelry, and currency. Like chests with carved decoration, boxes displayed a vocabulary of stylized plant forms and simple geometric shapes. Foliated S-scrolls, as single elements or paired—as on the front of this box and the sides of the cabinet to its right—were widely used.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Box
  • Maker: Attributed to John Thurston (1607–1685)
  • Date: 1660–85
  • Geography: Possibly made in Medfield, Massachusetts, United States; Possibly made in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: White oak, red oak, yellow pine
  • Dimensions: 9 1/2 x 26 5/8 x 15 1/2 in. (24.1 x 67.6 x 39.4 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1909
  • Object Number: 10.125.680
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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Cabinet, Red oak, white pine, black walnut, red cedar, maple, American
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