Family Discovers Their Beautiful Norwegian Box Dates Back to 1844
This decorative Norwegian folk art box is known as a “skrin.
Q: This is a Norwegian box we have had in our family for a long time. All we really know is a story about my great-great-grandmother, who had her baby clothes in it when she emigrated from Norway with her family. Her maiden name was Lillesand; there is a town in Norway by that name. When she emigrated, she did not speak English, so perhaps the immigration agent just gave them that last name because that was the town they were from. The initials on the chest are unknown also. They could be HMDH 1844 or AMDA 1844? The box is 13 1/2 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 6 1/2 inches tall. The top of the bow, which extends over the body of the box, measures 14 inches long. Can you provide us with any information about this family keepsake? Thank you!
A: I opened this email and just smiled. I have a weakness for wooden boxes and chests. This box, however, pushes all my box buttons. This box is a skrin, which in Norwegian translates to “casket,” but not in the modern sense of the word. The word “casket” was originally used to describe a decorative box, smaller than a chest, used for important documents. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a casket, in early America, was a box for jewels.
This skrin is representative of classic Norwegian folk art typical of the Viksdalen region of Norway. Regarding the initials, I’m fairly certain they are not “HMD.” I believe they are “AMD” for the following reasons: the top of the first letter is closed – not something you would see in the letter “H” but more so because we see the date as “A 1844” where the “A” could stand for “anno,” which in Latin means “in the year” or the “A” could stand for “år,” which in Norwegian means “year.”
The hinges are secured by rivets, which may cause confusion because we tend to think of rivets as a modern fastening method. Rivets have been used for thousands of years, especially in the Western world after 1830. The case, or body of the box, reveals wonderful hand-forged nails and dovetail construction. The dovetails have thin pins, which we see in cased pieces made before the mid-19th century; the scribe line is still visible. The decoration is in exceptional condition for a piece this age.
Considering the beautiful hand-painted decorations, the construction, and the family provenance, I would value it in the $900 to $1,200 range and possibly more at a well-advertised, well-attended auction.
As an aside, the name Lillesand is not used as a surname in Norway. Many, not all, Norwegian names have a patronymic origin and end in “sen/son” or “datter/dotter,” as in son or daughter. Hence, the name Hansen means son of Hans and Karlsdotter, the daughter of Karl. Almost all sources say that name changes by immigration officials are a myth. However, many years ago, I had a neighbor who emigrated to the U.S. from Italy. His surname was Pharoh. When I asked, he told me his actual family name was Ferro, but it was written as Pharoh at Ellis Island.
So much for myths.
Our guest appraiser is Dr. Anthony Cavo, a certified appraiser of art and antiques and a contributing editor to Kovels Antique Trader. Cavo is also the author of Love Immortal: Antique Photographs and Stories of Dogs and Their People.
Salt-glazed decorated 
Left: Oil-on-canvas portrait of 
American folk art carved and painted 
Pennsylvania Schwenkfelder 