$18,450
Shaker Red-painted Covered Oval Box with "Queen of the Meadow" Label, New Lebanon, New York, c. 1830, pine top and bottom with bent maple sides joined with five fingers fastened with copper tacks, painted oxblood red, one end with applied printed paper label: "Queen of the Meadow," (minor surface scratches, light mineral residue on cover), ht. 5 1/2, wd. 9 1/2, lg. 13 1/2 in. The printed label affixed to the end uses the same font as a large body of mid-19th century ephemera printed at Canterbury, New Hampshire, potentially indicating that after its construction at New Lebanon, it made its way to the community at Canterbury, where the label was likely applied. This box was painted with the lid on, as evidenced by the lack of paint along the upper edge of the side. The finely cut fingers are beveled, gradually flattening from the crotch to the tips. The deep red ochre coating is beautifully intact. The herb Queen of the Meadow (Eupatorium Purpureum) is also known as joe-pye, trumpet weed, gravel root, and purple boneset. The Mount Lebanon Shakers' 1873 Druggist's Hand-Book of Pure Botanic Preparations describes it as a "valuable remedy in dropsy, strangury, gravel and all urinary disorders."
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2014-06-15
