{"product_id":"17th-century-antique-iron-bound-oak-alms-box-circa-1680","title":"17th Century Antique Iron-Bound Oak Alms Box, circa 1680","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eA robust and deeply atmospheric iron-bound alms box of the seventeenth century, of the type long used in the churches and chapels of Northern Europe for the gathering of charitable offerings. Objects of this kind — the poor-box, the offertory box, the \u003cem\u003efattigbössa\u003c\/em\u003e of the Scandinavian church — stood at the door or by the altar to receive the alms of the congregation, and their construction speaks directly to their purpose: to be secure, immovable, and proof against the dishonest hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe rectangular oak carcase is heavily strapped and studded in wrought iron, the hinged top bound with iron bands laid in a bold X-shaped, or saltire, pattern and pierced with a single coin slot through which offerings were dropped. The front is mounted with a large iron lock of commanding scale, the key to which would have been held by the priest, churchwarden, or parish officer — the box opening only in the presence of those charged with distributing its contents to the poor of the parish. The whole retains a wonderful sculptural honesty: the hand-forged straps, the domed studs, the heavy hasp, all bearing the marks of the smith's hammer and the deep, dry patina of age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eCatalogued as Swedish folk art, the box belongs to a wider Northern European tradition of ecclesiastical and vernacular ironbound chests and money-boxes that spans Scandinavia, the German lands, and the British Isles, where the same anxieties — security, charity and accountability — produced the same uncompromising forms. Its survival, with its iron intact and its function legible at a glance, makes it both a compelling object of devotional and social history and a powerfully decorative one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eA piece of genuine presence, equally at home in an ecclesiastical setting, a collection of early metalwork and treen, or as a singular sculptural object in a country house interior.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/strong\u003e Northern Europe. 17th-century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Timber and iron.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sound and stable, retaining its original ironwork, lock and studded decoration. Commensurate with age and use: some rust and minor losses to the iron, and old woodworm to the oak. A wholly honest survivor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e Width 18½ in (47 cm) · Height 7¾ in (20 cm) · Depth 11 in (28 cm)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Holt Antiques at Walsingham Mill ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54350501413206,"sku":"HAF7394","price":950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0782\/7462\/5878\/files\/rn-image_picker_lib_temp_3295a3d6-3c25-4d44-ac41-79105b14561f.jpg?v=1782920686","url":"https:\/\/holtantiquefurniture.com\/products\/17th-century-antique-iron-bound-oak-alms-box-circa-1680","provider":"Holt Antiques at Walsingham Mill ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}