A striking large early Georgian vellum camphorwood campaign chest dated from 1810-1830. Click here to see more of our Chests.

The painted vellum covers the camphorwood frame and has been beautifully studded and brass bound. We can only imagine where it travelled during the 1800s and early twentieth century. A trunk like this would have been used by a very affluent family / gentleman in Asia North America or travelling on a grand tour of Europe. 

We have acquired many Georgian chests before and many military camphorwood chests, but never as decorative as this one.

Usually, camphorwood chests are used as travel chests. The soothing smell of the wood can be smelt metres away. Camphorwood chests are rare to find. This is only the 18th we have sold out of the 2,000+ unique chests and boxes we have sold in the last 18 years. 

The chest is over 200 years old. It shows superb carpentry construction with excellent dovetail joints. Interior designers and homeowners have used this type of chest as innovative side or coffee tables or simply as a cool styling prop placed against a hallway wall.

Interestingly, camphorwood chests and were used to transport tea, silk and porcelain from China to Europe and America many centuries ago. Most antique chests were made in India and China where the wood grows natively. They were also used to store blankets, bedding, clothing, and papers because of the camphor wood’s unique properties. The wood’s fresh scent (similar to eucalyptus) and natural moth repellent is a good natural asset.

Camphorwood is a tropical wood found in Asia and the wood has a very distinctive spicy odour. The wood gives off a wonderful scent, which was intended to repel pests such as moths and woodworm from infesting the wood. Camphorwood chests were widely used in the 19th and early 20th centuries as storage chests for naval officers, seamen of their long voyages around the world and officers in the Indian Army.
We acquired the chest from one of our regular antique luggage dealers. 

Condition report: the chest is in an overall reasonable condition. There is some discolouration to the vellum and the leather edges have perished and torn in a few places. There are also some areas of missing vellum on the top / lid (see image 6). The studs show signs of tarnishing. The brass edging and corners show dents, historical black paint and darker ageing. The lock block has been removed and we have replaced it with a block of tropical wood. Not shown in the images.