Folk art wedding chest, circa 1870

Central European pine wedding chest, probably German, circa 1870. The Neoclassical style persisted in Europe until after the 1820s. This terracotta red and green color palette is typical of the style and is often seen in Swedish and German painted furniture and recalls the Classical period. The flowers decorating the chest are symbols of eternal life. In the Christian symbolism of the rural population of Central Europe, the moment of marriage was a marriage of the Holy Sacrament.