AN IRISH RED-PAINTED PINE COOP DRESSER

By the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the practice of keeping hens in Irish kitchens was widely accepted. The coop, here designed as part of the dresser base, provided warmth and safety for hatching or roosting geese and hens particularly during the colder months. This hen coop dresser features upside down T-shaped sliding divisions which were opened to allow the fowl out to forage.