Folk Art Painted Bentwood Box - Circa 1820-1840

This 19th-century American folk art painted box with shaker origins., is a unique and charming form of decorative and functional folk art that originated in the United States during the 19th century.

These boxes are characterized by their distinctive construction, which involves bending thin strips of wood into a circular or oval shape to create the box's walls and lid. The wooden strips are often joined with small wooden pegs or nails, and the boxes are typically painted or decorated with intricate folk art designs.

This example is a particularly nice and painted in a moss green with floral design to the sides. The lid comes off and is held in place by a bentwood handle pinned to the sides. Look closely at the lid and there is a very nice painting of blossom on a tree and a small nest with eggs. All very faded but the detail is still clearly visible.

Open up the box and there is a lining on the inside walls and the remaining parts of the padded lid is still in tact, although somewhat shredded now. Some of these shaped boxes were used for storing sugar and maybe at some point this did as well, although the lining may have been an addition at some point.

The lid is stamped into the wood with the name 'Saratoga'. Saratoga is in the New York state of America and close by to New England, comprising the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, where there are numerous shaker communities throughout New England area. 

Period: 1820-1840

Material: Wood & Paint