Vine Document Box

Artisan: Ann High
Date: 2022
Intended Room: Master Bedroom
Dimensions: 20 x 52 x 41 mm; 3/4 x 2 1/8 x 1 5/8 inches (height x width x depth)
Inventory number: TBC

Provenance: Bought from Ann High’s stand at Kensington Dolls’ House Festival, May 2022.

I stumbled across Ann High’s website fairly early on in my miniatures research, and fell in love with her beautiful furniture. While it’s supposed to be medieval or Tudor, I immediately thought that it would also fit splendidly in an Arts and Crafts context. I decided that Quartermaine Hall’s master bedroom would be a glorious medievalist haven of wood panelling, William Morris fabrics and Ann High furniture. I haven’t yet got the four-poster bed on which I’ve had my eye since the beginning, but I couldn’t resist buying something from her stand at Kensington in May 2022. The result was this gorgeous little document box, decorated with a raised pattern of vines. I’m not entirely sure whether it will end up in the Master Bedroom itself or the Library, but for now it’s going into the Bedroom.

Ann explained to me that, although boxes of this type are commonly called ‘document’ or ‘bible’ boxes, that wasn’t actually their original purpose. They were the place where, in the medieval period, you’d keep all your personal possessions – while your clothes would be stored in a larger chest. The box is an absolute masterwork of detail, with tiny hinges, a brass lock-plate and, best of all, tiny holes bored through the wood behind the key-holes in the plate. Delightful. I’m hoping to add to our collection very soon!

Signed ‘Ann High’ on the base.