19th c. Painted Bucket Bench, Unusual Form
Because we live in a world of modern appliances where even milking the cows can be done by machine, most of us don’t have the same need for buckets as our grandparents did. But bucket benches are a different story. They make great plant stands, bookcases, end tables and more, depending on their size and form. And “form” is what makes this 19th c. example so unusual and so versatile today.
While typical bucket benches are made with open shelves, this sturdy example has a single enclosed shelf accessed from an oval cubbyhole cut out of the front. That feature and the decorative hand- carved “spurs” across the bottom suggest that this piece was made for a very specific — and special — purpose. (Just speculating, but I think it was made to hold a child’s washbasin, with comes, brushes and soap stored in the cubby.)
Constructed with square, irregular and round nails, the bench has a two-board overhanging top, cutout feet and old mustard paint over what appears to be the original red. Wood is pine and poplar. Dimensions are 22-3/4” W X 15-1/2” D by 24” T. The cubbyhole is 7-1/2” across. Found in southern Indiana. Second half of the 19th c.
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