Yale is giving free tours of their furniture study every Friday through May so last week I decided to check it out. The tours meet in the Yale Art Gallery but the furniture study is in the basement of another building.

The American Decorative Arts Furniture Study is a working library of more than 1,000 examples of American furniture and wooden objects dating from the 17th to the 21st century. Our guide had picked out a few pieces to focus on based on a Valentines' holiday theme.

These pieces were made by a husband and wife team in 1999. Bob Stocksdale, a wood turner, and Kay Sekimachi, a fiber artist. The paper is made out of hornets nest material, which may or may not be a commentary on marriage.

These were very early examples of carved chests that were from the New England area. They have initials carved into them but they haven't been able to connect them with a particular individual. They were likely made for women upon their impending marriages as dowry chests.

Another example of a marriage chest but in a painted style instead of the earlier carved chests. This may be from the Pennsylvania region. Many of these designs featured birds and flowers as well as hearts. Symbols of fertility and successful marriage.

These were not part of the tour specifically. They just caught my eye because I liked their graceful curves. And as part of my own Valentine's theme, this last piece reminded me of my husband who loves all things baseball.