Antique Chest Of Drawers

CHESTS ON STANDS
About 1680-1730
Many fashionable chests of drawers of this period were raised about 2 feet/60 cm from the ground on turned stands. By 1730 these seem to have been replaced by the more capacious tallboy. The information below
relates to the stands only; for details of the chest sections see under CHESTS OF DRAWERS: PANELLED OAK p.84 and CHESTS OF DRAWERS: VENEERED, p.86.
Late-17thC chest on stand of William & Mary type.
Pre-Queen Anne stands have one long (or after 1690 three short) drawer(s) supported on six turned legs joined by a platform, or turned stretchers with bun feet below. Cabriole legs with pad or hoof feet and without stretchers introduced about 1700. On both types, there is sometimes a shaped apron below the drawer(s). On three-drawer types, the central drawer is shallower than the side ones. Inverted projecting moulding at top of stand (into which chest slots) echoes similar moulded cornice at top of chest.
Early-18thc type with base in form of a lowboy or side-table.
Oak; solid walnut for legs; walnut veneer on pine for drawer sections and platform stretchers; oak for drawer linings (except for the drawer fronts).
Glued mortise-and-tenon joints. Turned legs dowelled into frame. Cabriole legs extend upwards to form corner stiles of framing.
Structural weakness and the partiality of wood-beetles for walnut have often contributed to the disappearance of the stand. The remaining chest section can easily be converted into a standard chest of drawers by the addition of a polished top  the original top being rough and concealed by the cornice and bun feet. These can often be identified by the presence of three rather than two small drawers at the top.
Drawers and drawer frieze as for chests, otherwise very plain.
Wax polish after varnish. Occasionally japanned. Spiral turnings occasionally ebonised (i.e. stained black).
VALUES
It is unusual to find a chest on stand without at least replacement feet, if not legs too. Even so, prices are well into the thousands. Replacement legs and stretchers, even if the drawer section is right, may reduce the
value by as much as 40 per cent. Fine and extensive marquetry is a huge bonus, possibly raising the price to a five-figure sum.

TALLBOYS OR CHESTS ON CHESTS
About 1710-1820
Chippendale-style mahogany tallboy, about 1765-1780.
Adevelopment of the chest on stand, used in bedrooms to store clothing. Especially popular during the second half of the 18thC - from when most date - despite being too high to use fully without standing on a chair.
Formed as two chests of drawers, the upper one slightly narrower than the lower. Nearly all straight-fronted, with bracket (often ogee) feet, though some around 1760 are serpentine, and later, from about 1780,
bow-fronted, with splayed ’swept’ feet.
Upper part has two or three short drawers above three feet long. A projecting moulded cornice is common; occasionally a broken pediment. Some have a frieze too; on early examples, occasionally, a cushion frieze
conceals a drawer.
Fashionably, corners canted; carved as columns or pilasters, in the mid-century, shallow Gothic or Chinese fret, or simple reeding or fluting.
Lower chest has three long drawers; mouldings around base and top into which upper chest slots. Occasionally a cavetto moulding (semi-circular concave niche) decorated with marquetry sunburst pattern, on bottom drawer of walnut examples. Occasionally a brushing slide at top; sometimes a secretaire drawer (see DESKS, P. 111).
Drawers usually - not always - of diminishing depth within each chest. Handles sometimes aligned.
Left, Sheraton mahogany tallboy, about 1800; right, late-18thC mahogany secretaire tallboy.
Walnut veneer; mahogany (solid or veneer). Occasionally rosewood, amboyna and other highly figured woods during Regency. Sometimes country versions in oak. Oak and pine for carcases.
As for CHESTS OF DRAWERS (see p. 87). The separate projecting cornice slots over blocks glued at corners of top. Occasionally low relief carving on frieze.
Polish; (rarely) japanning.
VALUES
Even the plainest tallboy will now fetch a four-figure sum and the best quality easily five. An early date, a cavetto moulding, a secretaire drawer, and, to a lesser extent, a brushing slide, and well figured and coloured veneers, will push the price up.
MARRIAGES
In the past tallboys were less fashionable than today and many were split up and sold as two separate chests of drawers. The reverse process is now common, so watch for marriages. Look for: correct conformation of
drawers; matching timber on all sides, including backboards; identical construction of all drawers; rough, unfinished surface on tops of both parts (neither would have been visible); canted corners on top and bottom, or top only.

Antique English Chests on Chest and Tallboys

Walnut chest on chest, of first quarter of 18th century with half herring bone cross banding on drawers. Bottomdrawe has curved centre panel inlaid with ’sunburst’ and waved apron. Top and bottom halves with chamfered and fluted corners. Bracket Feet. Veneer fairly straight in figure and grain; carcase  fronts veneered and drawers lip-moulded on edges.
Price Range: $160-$300
Value points: Size 6′6″ high or under
Sunburst in bottom drawer
Chamfered and fluted corners

A Queen Anne period or possibly George I chest on chest or ‘tallboy’ in walnut veneer. In this example there is an ovolo ‘lip’ moulding around the drawer edges to lap over the flat veneered carcase front edges when closed. The drawers are not actually cross banded; an inlaid stringing line around the drawers, suitably inset from the edges, gives this effect. Note that the bracket feet are also veneered in the same vertical figure arrangement as the front of the piece - restorers sometimes forget to do this when replacing feet.
The sides are veneered, with a cross banding down the vertical edges only - a feature common to these pieces.
Price Range: $250-$350
Value points: As for other chests

Simpler mahogany tallboy, without brushing slide and with a plain frieze under the cornice. Chamfered and reeded sides to the top half and serpentine bracket feet add quality to this example.
Price Range: $75-$90
Value points: Chamfered and reeded sides  Serpentine and bracket feet

More ornate mahogany tallboy, with dentil moulding; the frieze under it is decorated with a blind fret pattern. The reeded pillars let into the sides have decorative brass mounts and the finely figured drawers have a cross banding inside the cock bead. Serpentine bracket feet complete a high quality example.
Price Range: $200-$250
Value points: Decoration and carving  Dentil frieze and blind fret

English Chests on Stand

William and Mary walnut chest on stand. Cross banded drawers and top with inlaid stringing line. Note early period thumb-nail top edge moulding. Half-round moulding on carcase front. c. 1690.
Price Range: $200-$400
Value points: See section notes

William and Mary Period - c. 1690 - oyster and marquetry chest on stand of superb quality. The twist turning which remained so popular after the Restoration is well illustrated in the legs. The flat, shaped stretcher is veneered in walnut on the top face. The mouldings are first class examples of the cross-grained type of the period and the thick inlaid boxwood lines are bold examples of the type. Note that the sides are also veneered and inlaid with boxwood stringing. A half round moulding on the carcase front follows the
drawer edges.
Price Range: $800-$1,200
Value points: Quality of marquetry decoration

William and Mary Walnut and Marquetry chest on stand. Half-round moulding on carcase front around drawers. ‘Concave’ top edge moulding. Panels of marquetry on drawer fronts. Convex-fronted cushion drawer in top of chest, under top moulding. Typical period stand in solid walnut with inverted cup turning, shaped stretchers and bun feet. c. 1690-1700.
Price Range: $350-$1, 000. Large range scale accounted for by originality of base or stand.
Value points: Quality of marquetry and veneer

William and Mary oak chest on stand with drawers cross banded in walnut. The projecting lip moulding, rather like a cock bead, around the shaped frieze of the base, is a feature found on dressing tables of the period. Note the double D moulding on carcase front around the drawers.
Price Range: $160-$I90
Value points: Drawers cross banding

Queen Anne period chest on stand. First quarter 18th century. Note the fine cabriole legs and shaped base. Carcase fronts now flat veneered - no moulding - and drawers have ovolo lip moulding around edges to ‘lip’ over carcase front. Drawers cross banded. Note concave typical top moulding.
Price Range: Walnut $200 - $400. Oak $85 - $140 Value points:
In Walnut: Quality and originality of cabriole legs
In Oak:    Colour and grain  Medullary rays (see A. C. C.
Wood Identification Supplement) across drawer
fronts tend to detract from value.
Drawer cross banding: If in walnut or fruitwood  Mahogany (after 1730)  Many country versions have no cross banding or ovolo moulding on drawers.

Queen Anne period chest on stand in veneer. Note that the cabriole legs have the shell motif on the knee - a mark of quality -and web feet, an unusual feature also of quality. The piece is boldly proportioned with shaped frieze to the stand, half round or ‘D’ moulding on the carcase front around the drawers and a simple cross banding. All the mouldings are cross-grained and of good proportionPrice
Range: $300-$400
Value points: Quality and originality of cabrioles

Queen Anne country walnut chest on stand. Ogee type top edge moulding; half-round or ‘D’ moulding on carcase edges around drawers. Note the ‘half-herring bone’ cross banding around drawers i.e. the cross banding is at 45 degrees - a cheaper variation of the full herring-bone or ‘feather’ type cross banding. This type of cross banding was used on country pieces until a later date, running concurrently with full herring-bone; it is easier and simpler to produce. The square-cut cabriole legs are rather clumsy - those on the illustrated piece are not original. The top is not veneered and it has plain pine sides and drawer linings. The handles and escutcheons are period reproductions. Walnut veneer has some figure but the piece has poor patination. A patch in the veneer can be seen on the second long drawer in the top half, on the left hand side.
Price Range: $120-$150
Value points: See section notes

CHESTS  Wellington
A walnut veneered Wellington chest with pleasantly curled figure of almost burr type.
c. 1855    Walnut 6Bird’s eye maple
An ebonised exhibition-style specimen chest with sophisticated inlaid decoration and a brass gallery round the top. It has ormolu mounts and reflects the rather grand exhibition styles of the mid-nineteenth century influenced by French designers. c. 1850
A plain oak Wellington chest similar to the previous example. c. 1855
The term Wellington chest is applied to those specimen chests having a hinged flap at the side which can be locked over the drawers to prevent them opening. Presumably the inference is that they can be taken on campaigns, but why Wellington, ingenious as he was, should be credited with them is a mystery. Perhaps it is really a generic name stemming from the war period, like Trafalgar and Waterloo.

Flat-fronted chest of drawers

1. Perfectly matching veneer across the whole front.
2. Well-matched veneer on both sides, of corresponding thickness and colour as the front.
3. Half-round moulding down side edges and across drawer rails.
4. Mitred joins to cross-cut veneer around drawers
indicating high quality. Poorer quality workmanship had butt joins.
5. Cross-cut veneer set at a sharp 45′ angle indicates early pieces from c.1680-1705.
6. Cross grain combined with herringbone indicates
c.1695-1710. Cross-grain veneer banding alone after c.1710.
7. Plain plinth base with thick double or single half-round moulding with mitred edges.
8. Top flaring with shallow cornice-type moulding until c.1740.
9. On veneered pieces, drawers of oak with bottom grooves for runners.
10. From c.1720-35 some lesser-quality chests with drawers of close-grained imported pine, but drawer construction must be right for period.
Likely restoration and repair
11. If three drawers in top flight rather than two: almost
certainly the top half of same period tallboy.
12. New top with later moulded edges - confirms above point. Tops of tallboys were of unfinished carcase wood.
13. With three flights of drawers only. If top drawer is full width, it most probably comes from the bottom half of same period tallboy. With two drawers in top flight, examine closely for alterations, plugged screwholes of original single drawer.
14. Oak carcase: likely to be late eighteenth-early nineteenth century chest with newly added walnut veneer in early Georgian style. A popular ‘restoration’ in the 1920s and 1930s.
15. Pine carcase sides with pine drawers indicates Continental, probably Dutch.
16. Thinner timber sides: suspect Victorian replacement.
Historical background
There were two distinct periods during which flat-fronted chests of drawers were fashionable. Both periods can quite correctly be called ‘Georgian’, although nearly a century may separate them. The earliest of these was during and immediately after Queen Anne’s reign, and the second was during the Regency, when Hepplewhite reintroduced plain rectangular lines as a relief from the curved and serpentine shapes which had dominated the middle of the century. Of the two, the former are rarer to find and more interesting,
since many minor, but important, structural changes occurred between early methods of construction and the Georgian period. By the time Hepplewhite reintroduced the flat-fronted chest of drawers, construction was firmly established and furniture was being made in commercial quantities.
Early Georgian chests of drawers were still being made in walnut veneer, although its popularity was waning. By c.1735 some furniture was already being made in mahogany, which was clearly set to oust walnut, since supplies had virtually ceased to be imported. There were still stocks of seasoned walnut and walnut veneer available, but from 1720 France, England’s main supplier, imposed a total ban on exports. Thus, virtually without any change in construction, the same design was made in mahogany from c.1740 onwards.
Construction and materials
It is believed that not a few of these fine early Georgian walnut-veneered pieces were made with sides of solid walnut as well as in veneer. Perhaps this accounts for their relative rarity, since walnut is very susceptible to woodworm, and large quantities of fine walnut furniture has been quite literally reduced to dust. Veneers were carefully chosen to match over the entire front of the chest; tops were veneered in a single piece and not quarter-veneered, with bands of cross-cut veneer with mitred corners.
Drawer linings were of oak until the mid-eighteenth century. Dovetails were smaller stopped or lapped dovetails, and the sides of the drawers now enclosed the bottom boards, which were grooved on the outer edge to form bottom runners. Drawer pulls had improved from the rather insecure tang fixtures, and were now fixed to drawer fronts with flat-ended, thick, hand-cut screws terminating on the outside in a cast knob bored to take the drawer-pull, and on the inside with a nut, notched to take a special tightening tool. These fixings are known as ‘pummel pins’.
Detail
Early Georgian chests of drawers still display many design features of an earlier age, notably the popular bun feet and simple plinth moulding found on much Queen Anne furniture. Tops were made with echoes of cornice moulding, as in the previous century, splaying outward from the sides and front. Side edges finished flush with the front and drawers were edged with heavy cockbeading. But there was still half-round moulding on the drawer rails, and drawers were also bordered with cross-cut veneer or herringbone
banding. Many chests of drawers of this period have long since had their original bun feet replaced with bracket feet as fashion changed, and probably also as the veneered plinth moulding became chipped and damaged.
Variations
Chests of drawers were still fairly rare pieces of furniture in all but wealthy households. Some were made in oak, with plain-fronted drawers except for added cock-beading, otherwise much the same in construction as earlier oak chests of drawers. Smaller in size because of the smaller rooms they were intended for, they were often made originally with plain turned wooden knobs, and sometimes with herringbone inlaid banding around drawers, but no other decoration. Plain plinth bases were mounted on bun or bracket feet.
Country chests of drawers of this period were often still made in the traditional fashion, in two halves, with panelled sides. They are easy to distinguish from later country-made chests of drawers by their fine workmanship, the lines of half-round moulding along the drawer rails, and the quality of the timber which is much finer, more close-grained and smooth-surfaced.
Reproductions
Most common is the later Hepplewhite-period flat-fronted chest of drawers in mahogany veneer, usually on a red or white pine carcase, or on cheap Honduras or baywood mahogany for the better-quality versions. Inevitably, these well-designed late eighteenth-century chests of drawers merge into later, cheaply made and mass-produced nineteenth-century pieces, easy to detect from their thin, almost figureless veneer, machine-cut shaped aprons, stamped-brass handles, often with bone or ivory escutcheons.
Edwardian copies which are distinguished by badly fitting drawers and plywood backs.
It might be added here that many of these, originally
veneered in thin machine-cut veneer but with good, solidly made Victorian pine carcases, have been stripped and sold as original pine. Pine chests of drawers were not made until the end of the eighteenth century, and can easily be distinguished by their early methods of construction and detail.
Price bands
Sectional construction in oak,500-900.
With walnut veneer. $2,000-3,000.
Late eighteenth-century mahogany, 400-600.
Variations, top left: plain, early Georgian oak chest of drawers, made in two halves, with locks on the bottom drawer of each half, small, turned, wooden handles and simple panelled drawers. Bottom left: an eighteenth-century chest of drawers mounted on a low stand with a single drawer. The drop handles are from an earlier period, but the graduated drawers are early Georgian.