Punched Tin Decorated Safe

Artist/Maker
Burgner Group
Place Made
Green or Washington County Tennessee United States of America
Date Made
1840-1860
Medium
cherry –poplar –paint –tin
Dimensions
HOA: 47 1/4″
WOA: 53 3/4″
DOA: 16 10/16″
Accession Number
5426a
Description
DESCRIPTION: Punched tin decorated safe with two drawers each with two wooden knob pulls and painted interior; over two doors with inset tin panels with punched designs including hearts, candles, stars and a vase; the doors are flanked by turned columns and the case sits upon turned feet; decoratively grained panels are placed above and below the columns; the sides of the case have inset tin panels with variations of the same designs as the front panels; the interior of the safe is divided centrally and each side has two shelves.
History
This safe descended in the Sherfey and Boyer families of Washington County, Tennessee, and is attributed to the Burgner family of East Tennessee cabinetmakers. The Burgner family migrated to Tennessee from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the late 18th century, and by the second quarter of the 19th century, included four brothers – John C., Christian, Peter, and Daniel – who were all cabinetmakers.

A nearly identical pie safe stamped “CB” for Christian Burgner (1811-1886) is illustrated in Namuni Hale Young’s, Art and Furniture of East Tennessee, (East Tennessee Historical Society, 1997), p. 37.

Credit Line
Gift of Mary Jo Case.