Charles I Boarded Oak Desk Box of Exceptional Quality

A rare survival of outstanding craftsmanship, this boarded oak desk box is among the finest of its type. The front is boldly carved with a pair of opposing winged dragons, their coiled serpentine tails forming volutes, flanking the original iron lockplate. Such powerful imagery speaks both to the decorative vocabulary of the period and to the allegorical language of protection and guardianship.
The sloping lid, incised with the initials M M, opens to reveal a fitted interior with three drawers, simply moulded yet retaining their period stained finish. The combination of bold external carving and practical, ordered internal arrangement reflects the dual function of these boxes as both personal repositories and statements of status.
Boarded desk boxes of the early 17th century are uncommon survivals; to find one of this scale, with such confident dragon carving and in excellent state of preservation, is remarkable. Its quality, design and completeness place it among the best examples known from the Gloucestershire region, a centre famed for its vigorous vernacular carving.

Provenance: Devon private collection; previously with William Stokes Antiques, Cirencester.