Antique Chest Of Drawers

 

WALNUT FURNITURE, George I carved red walnut Armchair, Queen Anne walnut and featherbanded Chest-on-Stand, George I walnut Bureau

A Queen Anne walnut Chest,  inlaid with featherbanding, with two short and three long graduated drawers, on shaped bracket feet, restored, cm. high by cm. wide.; ft.

A George I walnut Chair,  the scroll cresting rail above a vase-shaped splat and slip-in needlework seat, the carved cabriole legs with H-shaped stretchers and pad feet, one

scroll to the knee lacking, worm

A Queen Anne walnut Chest-oa-
Stand, made-up, inlaid with satinwood
stringing, the moulded cornice above two
short and three long graduated drawers,
the stand with two drawers and a shaped
apron, on cabriole legs and pad feet.
restored, cm.

A pair of George I walnut Chairs,
with vase-shaped splats and
slip-in seats, the square legs joined by
stretchers

A Queen Anne walnut and
crossbanded Bureau,  inlaid
with featherbanding, the fall with a folio
rest and revealing a stepped and fitted
interior with a well, below are two short
and two.long drawers, on later shaped
bracket feet, restored, cm. high by  cm.
wide.; ft. Vin. by ft.

A WIIIiam and Mary oyster walnut and satinwood banded Chest-on-Stand,  with satinwood banding and segmented veneers, with two short and two long drawers, the stand with a

drawer and spiral-twist legs joined by stretchers, on bun feet, cm. high by cm. wide.; ft. Ain. by ft. lin., the stand with alterations

A Queen Anne walnut and crossbanded Escritoire-on-Chest,  inlaid with featherbanding, the moulded cornice and cushion frieze drawer above a fall revealing an arrangement of

pigeon-holes, small drawers and a cupboard, below are two short and two long drawers, on later shaped bracket feet, restored, faults, cm. high by cm. wide.; ft. Ain. by ft. in.

A George II large red walnut oval drop-leaf Table,  with ogee arched apron, the bold cabriole legs ending in pad feet, one pad foot partially lacking,  by cm. extended; ft. in.

by ft.

A George I carved red walnut
Armchair,  with vase-shaped
splat and eagle head arms, the stuffed
bowed seat above cabriole legs with scroll
knees, on daw and ball feet, restored

A WIIIiam and Mary-style walnut
Torchere, made-up, the decagonal top
with starburst inlay, the turned and
chamfered tapered pIIIar above tripod
scroll supports, cm. high; ft. in.

A George II red walnut kneehole Dressing Table,  with a frieze drawer and shallow apron drawer, the recessed cupboard flanked by six short drawers, on shaped bracket feet, cm.

high by cm. wide.; ft.  by ft. in.

A WIIIiam and Mary walnut Chest-on-Stand,  the sides in pine, the crossbanded drawers with later cock beading, the stand with a drawer above shaped brackets, now lacking legs,

faults, altered and restored, cm. high by cm. wide.; ft. in. by ft. in.

A George II walnut oval drop-leaf Table,  on circular tapering legs and pad feet, faults,  by cm. extended; ft. m. by ft. m.

A Queen Anne-style walnut and crossbanded Side Table, made-up, inlaid with featherbanding, the quarter veneered top above three drawers and a shaped apron, on cabriole legs and

pad feet, cm. wide.; ft. in.

A Queen Anne walnut and featherbanded Chest-on-Stand,  the moulded cornice above two short and three long drawers, the later stand with a convex apron and cabriole legs, on pad

feet, faults, restored, cm. high by cm. wide.; ft. in. by ft. Ain.

A WIIIiam and Mary oyster walnut
cushion frame Wall Mirror,
with later rectangular plate and an ovolo
surround, restored, now lacking the
surmount, cm. high by cm. wide.;
ft. Whin, by lft. Vin.

A George I walnut Chest-on-Chest,  inlaid with featherbanding, the moulded cornice above three short and three long graduated drawers, below are two short and two long

drawers, the sides with crossbanding, on shaped bracket feet, restored and re-veneered, cm. high by cm. wide.; ft.  by ft. in.

A George I walnut Bureau, circa
with later mahogany crossbanding
and satinwood inlay, including an oval
medallion with ivory cherub motifs, the
fall revealing a fitted interior with
pigeon-holes and six small drawers,
below are four long graduated drawers,
on later bracket feet, altered and restored,
cm. high by .cm. wide.; ft.  by
ft.

A Wiffin aad Mary walnut and
seaweed imiipilij Cabmrt-on-Stand,
the moulded cornice above a
cushion frieze drawer, the pair of doors
revealing a cupboard surrounded by an
arrangement of drawers and enclosing
four further drawers, the stand with a
drawer and shaped apron, now on
cabriole legs and pad feet, restored, veneers
fmrhmfh Imdamg, cm. high by cm.
maV. ft..
Provenance: By repute formerly the ptupem of the Rowley Family in Shrewsbury.

CHESTS OF DRAWERS (BUREAUX) AND DRESSING CHESTS (DRESSERS)
About 1890-1940
Nine-drawer oak chest designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, about 1902.
In modern American usage, a bureau is a chest of drawers; in Britain it is a slope-front desk. In the USA, a dresser is a dressing-table or dressing-chest with a mirror; in the UK it is a kitchen cupboard or country-made sideboard, usually with shelves above.
From their positions of honour in the living. room, where they were repositories of heirlooms and dowries, epitomized by the ‘bottom drawer’ in which the bride-to-be tucked away her trousseau, chests of drawers were relegated to the bedroom, eventually to become ’storage units’, oak dressing bureau by Buckley, 1890-1910: The chest of drawers survived as an independent piece of furniture, often bow-fronted with pilasters and turned feet, but was also adapted to form part of a bedroom suite as a drawing-chest (dresser) with mirror attached.
1910-25: The need to economize on living space made the bulky chest of drawers a prime candidate for rationalization.
1925-40: The Art Moderne style did little in its defence beyond lavishing expensive veneers on it. Under reformist influence, it became at first purely functional but still autonomous, until absorbed into a storage system of shelving, hanging and drawer space composed of units, either built-in or flexible, often put together by early DIY enthusiasts.
For them, a New York cabinet-maker wrote a book called How to Make Your Own Bedroom Furniture. In the first six months, it sold I I copies. The publishers changed the title to How to Do It in the Bedroom, and  dressing chest with asymmetrical Mirror came a best-seller. DIY was not really a 20thC invention. From the days of the Pilgrim Fathers, much was made by unskilled homemakers, and in the late 19thC, amateur woodwork became a cult that accounts for many otherwise inexplicable departures from the norm.
1890-1910: Mahogany, walnut, oak, used in the solid or as veneers on pine base. Drawers often lined with cedar.
1910-40: Oak, ash, walnut, mahogany, satin birch, Canary whitewood, used in the solid for drawer-fronts. Veneered plywood on softwood frames for carcases.
Custom-built pieces hand-made, mass-produced merchandise heavily reliant on machines. Some DIY artefacts remarkable for methods previously unknown and never- repeated, e.g. a highboy converted from an upright piano, the drawers assembled with screwed-on angle irons.
1890-1925: Carving, by hand or machine; mass-produced marquetry motifs, many in pseudo-Federal style, available by the dozen for insertion at furniture factory.
1925-40: Little decoration other than on reproductions and pastiches of ‘Jacobean’ (vaguely 17thC) chests of drawers with geometric mouldings and split banister turnings on drawer-fronts.
Traditional types stained dark and French polished; dressing-chests fitted with mirrors in matching frames.
Handles: Turned wood, ornate metal simulating brass or bronze.
Art Moderne types veneered in exotic woods or, if solid, limed or painted and cleaned off, leaving pigment in grain. Dressing-chest fitted with frameless, bevelled mirrors, sometimes of eccentric shape.
Handles: Wooden bars, oxidized or chromium-plated metal grips.
Late-19thC mahogany chests of drawers with cedar drawer-linings a good buy for those who like their rich, heavy look. Good examples of Art Moderne highly priced, poor ones not worth having.
Many a late-19thC chest of drawers with bow front, heavy pilasters, turned feet and wooden knobs has been made into a Federal type by removing the pilasters, reducing the width, replacing the turned feet with brackets and the wooden knobs with reproduction brass handles.

CHESTS OF DRAWERS: VENEERED
About 1680-1740 Walnut
The art of veneering was introduced to England by Dutch and Flemish craftsmen working in and around London during the Restoration period.
Generally three long drawers below two short. Most with over-hanging top, formed at first by a cornice, later ovolo or thumb moulding. Later pieces occasionally with caddy top (i.e. inset with narrow moulding all
round). Tops often quarter-veneered (i.e. veneer laid in four identical pieces) until about 1710; thereafter one piece, usually with broad, cross-banded border.
Bun feet with simple plinth moulding until about 1710, then bracket. (Many have had their bun feet replaced with brackets at a later date. The original holes will still be visible in the carcase base.)
Drawer fronts flat, fashions for edge decoration and finish varying, some running concurrently:
Right, simple cross-banding, late 17thC; centre, feather cross-banding, early 18thC and below, allover veneer with inset stringing, late 17th C.
About 1680-1710: Simple cross-banding. About 1690-1720: Feather (or herringbone) cross-banding.
About 1690-1710: All-over veneer with inset stringing.
With these types, front of carcase between and around the drawers has a single or double half-round moulding.
About 1710-1720: Rebated ovolo lip moulding extending beyond edge of drawer, concealing gap between drawers and carcase.
About 1730 until late-19thC: Cockbead (i.e. a narrow and slightly projecting moulding rebated around drawer but not extending beyond edge).
With these types, drawer dividers plain.
THE BACHELOR’S CHEST
A popular variant, dating from about 17101740, and mostly made in walnut, though occasionally mahogany, is the bachelor’s chest. This is much shallower than average and characterized by a folding top, hinging down from the front and supported on lopers to provide a writing slide. Unusual and desirable, so fakes are not uncommon. Check that the drawer runners stop short of the back; if not, it is almost certainly made up from a cut-down standard chest.
A, plain bracket foot, late 18thC; B, William and    A turnip foot, early 18thC. Mary ban foot; C, flattened bun foot, late 17thC  veneered chest of about 1690.
Veneer: Predominantly walnut; occasionally mahogany after about 1720. Also yew, mulberry, sycamore and many other burr and figured woods. Laburnum, lignum vitae, king-wood, olive-wood and others used for
oyster veneers (i.e. veneers cut across the grain from small branches). Boxwood, holly, ebony, and other woods for inlay and marquetry, also occasionally bone.
Carcases: Pine for all veneered surfaces; oak for drawer linings (except the drawer front. On these a strip of oak often concealed the pine top edge). Oak or deal carcase when japanned.
Hand-cut veneers, at first thick (about 1/8 inch/3 mm), cut across the grain. Early through-dovetails on all parts originally covered by veneer; lapped dovetails from about 1690-1700. Sides of drawers narrower.
drawer construction, veneer hiding dovetails
Drawer linings rebated and glued into sides. Grain running front to back except on very large drawers, when side to side. Drawers with runners on underside, supported on bearers, often with solid dustboards too.
Drop handles attached by split-pin (or tang) method. Plate handles with bolts and circular nuts (fixed with special too]). Pine, sometimes oak, backboards nailed on.
REPLACED HANDLES
It has been estimated that approximately 90 per cent of all chests of drawers have had their handles replaced at least once. This will be obvious from the number and position of holes visible on the inside and probably
from filled holes on the outside. On veneered drawers, if the holes on front and back do not tie up, the piece has certainly been re-veneered, or even veneered for the first time (see below).
Principally geometric patterns of figured veneer. Inlay (often as stringing or circles or ovals), cross-banding. Much use of symmetrically arranged burr and oyster veneers.
Floral marquetry, about 1690-1720; usually contained within panels, not all over as on contemporary Dutch chests.
After about 1680 occasionally chinoiserie japanned decoration on black ground (survivals rare).
Handles: Iron (towards 1700 brass) drop handles. C-scroll bail handles with backplates from about 1700. Early backplates solid and shaped, with bevelled edges; sometimes incised. From about 1720 more often
pierced.
Largish centrally placed decorative lock escutcheons.
Varnish (diluted glue applied in layers and sanded down between applications) to fill the grain and produce a smooth surface, followed by wax polish.
Unfortunately many ‘antiques’ were French polished by the Victorians and have subsequently had to be re-polished, thereby losing their original finish and the mellow colours produced by patination.
VALUES
Prices invariably in four figures, many in five. Being particularly valuable  and rarely in totally original condition  false versions are not uncommon. Watch out for all-oak or all-pine construction. In both cases the chest probably started life without veneer; the first in the 17thC or 18thC, the latter in the late 19thC (although it could possibly be an imported Continental version). Look carefully at the construction of the drawers.
Carcase construction revealed.