A North German iron-mounted carved oak chest or 'Stollentruhe', Westphalian comprising old elements

with rectangular top, raised on stile feet, each carved with architectural niche enclosing a coat-of-arms, topped by a scalloped shell, the whole mounted with iron bands terminating in flower head

This type of chest with multiple iron straps loosely imitates the style of the Tuscan Gothic and was popular in Northern Europe in the 15th century. These chests were all of similar form but varied slightly in their carving and feet and manner of opening for instance the top, side and fall-front.

See Kreisel 1968 plate 42, for a virtually identical chest in the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Cologne, with different tapering legs but identical trefoil straps. Also see pl. 45 for a similar chest in the Kurpfalzisches Museum, Heidelberg.

Also see for related chests lot 53, Sotheby's, New York, 13th December 2003 and lot 247, Sotheby's London, 28th October 2004.