Featured I HAVE THIS LOVELY SMALL CHEST THAT I LOVE & WOULD LIKE SOME

@James Conrad, no problem....there will ALWAYS be questions!!!!

 

Indeed

 

I don't think we know what vintage Aquitaine's box might be, although the fancy beckets would seem to suggest earlier rather than later. Just following the trails...... If such boxes were clearly used in the late 19th century, it does not seem unreasonable to believe they were also used during the time of sail.

Perhaps this book would shed some light, although I don't have a copy (yet):
Jack Tar: A Sailor's Life 1750-1910 - Marine Art & Antiques.
Joseph Welles Henderson & Rodney P. Carlisle. Antique Collectors Club, 1999.
ISBN 1851493263
"Over the years, Welles Henderson, the author of this intriguing book, noted that the majority of maritime museums throughout the world placed their emphasis on ship paintings, ship models, figureheads, navigation equipment, nautical tools and weapons but gave little insight into the daily life of the ordinary sailor. For over four decades, therefore, he has been collecting material in an attempt to fill the gap. This has been a great challenge as comparatively few real-life depictions of shipboard activities and the life of a sailor at sea were made during the eighteenth and much of the nineteenth century. There are countless ship portraits but very little of the human interest side of the sailor afloat. While many well-known expeditions, including that of Captain James Cook, had artists accompany them, practically all their depictions were of flora, fauna, landscapes and local inhabitants rather than of shipboard life. Finding a piece here and a piece there, however, Welles Henderson has painstakingly succeeded in putting together a fascinating mosaic of the life of a sailor from the time of his going off to sea until his death on board or on shore."

 

19th c box

 

Great chest. Left hinge looks like it was a replacement and that hinge is pretty rough as if supplies to reconstruct were limited. To the left of the right hinge, on the underside of the lid, is a line which may mean that it had another division on the right. Perhaps similar to the left drawer division? If the underside of the existing drawers are notched to prevent opening in rough seas, then I opine that it is definitely a sea chest. In spite of a lack of notching, I vote that this is a sea chest anyway. Definitely a keeper!

 

@James Conrad, I now see how John Claypoole's sea chest was able to follow him.....since his name was engraved during his LAST YEAR of SERVICE!!! Didn't notice that before!!! Just stumbled across that plaque!! UP CLOSE!! Couldn't get it any LESS blurry.....

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The problem I have with all this is, " suggest he may have" woulda coulda shoulda plus zero serious research, just "stories". Why is that? is it because some scholars have made preliminary inquiries, found the whole thing fantasy and dropped the project, or, no one has made the attempt yet? I don't know.
It's the same with many naval/nautical objects, carved whales teeth (scrimshaw) come immediately to mind, unless one happens to be an expert it's best to steer clear as there are many more fakes floating around than genuine pieces.
When you go to sites like LiveAuctioneer and type in their search box "sea chest" it is not very encouraging. 742 sold listings here alone, hundreds upon hundreds of examples without so much as a raindrop of water damage. Uhhhhh, Nooooo.
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/search/?keyword=sea chest&sort=-relevance&status=archive
Color me skeptical about this entire dealio, sea chest, treasure chest, pirate chest, etc, just seems to me more like romantic fantasy than the real deal.
Life at sea in the 18th-early 19th century was absolutely a brutal experience, that much I know, one was lucky to escape with your life and little else.
I could be WRONG! Absolutely NOT in my area of interest or knowledge.

 

Looks like a strong box to me that's been slightly altered over the years. They were used to keep valuables, etc. and I see a side compartment that was likely for candles which were expensive and often kept under lock and key. Interesting that the side compartments are raised up from the bottom; maybe to prevent water damage i.e. you guys might be right about it's seafaring origins.