A rare surviver from the 13th or 14th century comes this important English clamp-front chest.  The front central panel is carved with geometric roundels and flanked by extra-wide stiles made from thick planks of oak, all identifying characteristics of the period.
 
Length 41”, height 17 1/4", depth 17 1/2"; (104cm x 44cm x 44cm)
 
The construction methodology is known as “clamped” or “hutch”.  “Clamped chests are the earliest examples of joined furniture and are very rare. In Essex and Suffolk, county surveys show that they comprise less than 5% of all medieval chests. Nationally, some 50 are known today.”(3).  Surviving examples are mostly found in churches in southern England.
 
“Hutches [clamped chests] first appeared in the thirteenth century. Carving appropriate to the period was chip-carved roundels in the thirteenth century, the relief-carved scenes of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, or the elaborate tracery of the late fifteenth century.”(2)  Once thought to pertain solely to the 13th century, recent research using dendrochronological dating indicates that the chip-carved roundels design extended into the first half of the 14th century in many cases (see Researchgate.net) (3).  Accordingly we believe this piece may date to either the 13th or 14th century.
 
In clamped construction, the front, back, and side pieces are joined to wide stiles with a pegged tongue-and-groove joint.  Likewise, the bottom board is aligned side to side and sits in a groove run along the bottom edge of the front, back and side panels.  The design of pegged tongue-and-groove joinery is far more durable than the nailed or pegged lap joints of the six-board chest which were more common at the time.  All parts are made from thick oak planks. (For helpful diagrams, see the reference to greydragon.org, below) (2)  
 
The chest being offered is of relatively small size, very similar to a chest in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and pictured here.(1) “Chests were the earliest form of furniture used for storage and could easily be carried from place to place. They were used in churches, as well as in houses, to store valuables.”(2)  “Size may be related to function and it has been suggested that deep, high chests were likely to have been for vestments. Shallow, low chests were probably more appropriate for money, books, documents and plate.” (3)  
 
Condition:  This chest is in unusually good condition for it's age, retaining it's original top and bottom as well as it's original iron lock and loop hinges (such parts that often do not survive from this period).  The attractive patina, with it's varying colors, appears to be untouched (another rare feature for such an early piece).  Repairs during it's life are as follows:  The upper half of the right side panel, the outer edge of the right front leg, and a 3" wide board on the bottom are later repairs. Holes on the outer edges of the top indicate that there were once battens underneath the top on the edges to secure the top. Battens were later placed under the top in the inner portion (secured by early large square nails).  The legs were no doubt shortened over time (as with most Medieval chests due to rot at the feet), and spacers/extentions have been recently added to three of the legs to level the chest.  The latch is missing from the top, and judging by the well-worn groove in the wood, it appears to have been removed centuries ago.   The chest is very sturdy and strong.
 
Provenance:  From the Martha's Vinyard estate of George Morgan, American actor (1932-2022).  George Morgan was known for his roles in M*A*S*H (1972), Chafed Elbows (1966), The Wide World of Mystery (1973) and other performances in New York.  He was an avid collector of ancient and eclectic objects.  
 
Relevant Literature and comparable pieces
 
(1) Victoria and Albert Museum.  The V&A owns a well-known English clamp-front chest of about the same size, dated between 1200-1300.  See the last photo included on my site here, and compare not only the main six-sided star shapes within the circles, but also the identical small triangular pattern on the outer edges of the circles.  See:  https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O93911/chest-unknown/. 
(2) Greydragon.org.  This web site includes various information on medieval life and furnishings.  A link to another page within this site includes excellent diagrams of the various construction methodologies of medieval chests.  See: https://www.greydragon.org/library/chests.html
(3) Researchgate.net.  An online in depth study of several English medieval clamped style chests, with numerous and excellent photos.  See:  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339080672_The_Surrey_group_of_pin-hinged_clamped_medieval_chests_a_comparative_study_of_the_chests_at_Chobham_Godalming_Shere_and_Stoke_d'Abernon_Surrey_Archaeological_Collections_102_2019_169-189
(4) Oak Furniture, the British Tradition, by Victor Chinnery, 1979.  In this major work, various English medieval chests are pictured and described on pages 109-115 and 411-416.
(5) Medieval Furniture, by Penelope Eames, 1977.  Another major work pertaining exclusively to furniture from the 12th to the 15th century.  Many clamped chests are described at length on pages 140-159, but with only a few photographs.