Form: Painter's Paint Box
Material: Wood
Marks: P. Cliff
Construction: Dovetailing, nails, and screws.
Features: The exterior of this box is patterned with the artist's initials in red and gold on a green background, surrounded by a red wheel bordered in gold with four-petal flower patterns within it. Flowing fern patterns curve off the main design, which is in turn surrounded by a round-cornered rectangle.Beneath the lid the artist's name, "P. CLIFF" is written in gold along a diagonal strip spanning from the top left corner to the bottom right. Flowers of white and pink are painted along the ribbon, with square portraits of outdoor scenes at the top and bottom of the ribbon. The box itself contains a series of compartments, one long one on the left side and two - the top larger - on the right side.Likely a sign or carriage painter's box. Original paint surfaces. American, c. 1860
Date: C. 1860
Provenance: New York Estate
Size: 2.25x15.0x10.75"
Weight: 3.2lbs
Condition: The lacquer on the box is peeling away, revealing the base wood of the box. The paint has worn away completely in parts, showing a dull gold that is beneath the red-orange. The locking mechanism has grown weak and takes some effort to get the hook back into the eye to secure it. The hinges are still intact and functional, however, and do not stick or jam.
History: This box belonged to the artist P. Cliff, for the purpose of carrying his art supplies. These boxes were not uncommon for the time, used to hold a painter's tools as they traveled as well as serving as a personalized displayof their skill in the trade they plied. It is believed that this particular artist specified in the painting of carriages and or signs during the 1860s, as evinced by the style of the art beneath the lid.