An Elizabeth I oak boarded 'clamp-front' chest, Welsh Borders, circa 1600


The hinged boarded lid with triple scribed edge, the front board with an upper band of nulled-carving, the hollowed-out stile supports with narrow run-moulded long edges and profiled lower inner edge, 112cm wide x 51.5cm deep x 73cm high, (44in wide x 20in deep x 28 1/2in high)
|This chest initially appears to be of clamped-front construction, with the side boards tenon-jointed within the stile supports - the boards simply 'clamped' in place. However, in actual fact, the rectangular-section stiles are hollowed out for part of their height, creating an L-shape into which the boarded box rests. This innovative type of construction appears localized, with several related examples found mainly in the counties of Breconshire and Radnorshire. See Richard Bebb, Welsh Furniture 1250-1950 (2007), Vol. I, pp. 144 - 148.