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Details |
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| The Rufford Old Hall Mule Chest | |||||||
| Lord Hesketh gifted much oak furniture with
the house to The National Trust in 1936. It is likely that this piece,
although not specifically mentioned, was part of that gift. It is of a
good size …not too deep, not too wide and the height is similar
to that of many dresser bases of the period and thus provides the same
‘presence’. The dimensions will particularly suit an entrance
hall where the obvious usefulness for storage can be fully exploited.
The ‘mule chest’, a panelled coffer with the addition of drawers
at the bottom, was first contrived in the 17th century, initially as a
richly decorated piece. By 1721 (the date of this chest) it had become
a very popular configuration for relatively simple panelled storage chests
of which ours is typical. As well as its proportions, we especially like the crisp moulding details and the bold carving of the initials and date. Unfortunately the identity of ‘EC’ has been lost in obscurity.
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