An elaborately carved seventeenth-century oak ‘Bible box’.

English (?) oak box with elaborately carved foliation in relief, 265 mm tall x 485 mm wide x 430 mm deep, with iron reinforcements to the corners of lid and sides of the box, two iron handles, the lid with the lettered ‘IHS KMD’ in relief and the front panel with carved date ‘ANO 1647’; large crack to the lid held in place by the iron strapping, old locks perished; else in good, solid condition.

In Western Europe in the seventeenth century every household of note would have had at least one box that was used to store valuables, in addition to larger chests and coffers for more substantial articles. The term ‘Bible box’ was not used as a descriptor until the nineteenth century. However, the carved christogram on the lid of this example certainly suggests it would have served as the receptacle for the family’s Holy Bible and prayer book(s). The idiosyncratic and extremely elaborate foliate design, into which stylised griffins are incorporated, extends across all panels and is executed with a high level of artisanship. The presence of the initial letter ‘K’ in what is presumably the owner’s name almost certainly precludes the possibility of the box having a Spanish or French origin, despite the flamboyance and exuberance of the carving.