A coffer is a lidded chest, traditionally used for storing valuables, textiles, documents and household goods. In the antiques trade the term is most often applied to early English oak chests of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, although the word has been used broadly for many types of lidded storage box.
The earliest examples were simple boarded chests or massive dug-out forms bound with iron. By the Tudor and Stuart periods joiners were making panelled coffers using mortise and tenon joints secured with wooden pegs, a construction that allowed the timber to move without splitting. Fronts were often carved with lunettes, guilloche, foliage, linenfold or the owner's initials and a date, and some regional styles can be recognised by their carving. Many coffers were made for churches, where they held vestments and parish records. Collectors look for a rich, dry patina, original hinges and lock plates, untouched feet and carving that is consistent with the period, since many plain chests were later embellished in the Victorian era. Today a coffer is a versatile piece, serving as blanket storage, a hall bench or a low table.
