Chest of Drawers
1675-1725 (made)
| Place of origin |
Chest of drawers of pine and oak, veneered with lignum-vitae and walnut; it is arranged in two separate parts, the upper containing four drawers, and the lower one drawer. The top is further decorated with thin sycamore bands, arranged in two concentric circles in the centre surrounded by intersecting segments; in the corners are quadrants. Each side has a large circle of similar material. The five drawers are each fitted with a brass escutcheon and two drop-handles. The whole is supported on five twisted legs, which rest on a plinth with shaped lower edges.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 8 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Pine and oak, veneered with lignum-vitae and walnut. |
| Brief description | English c1700; pine and oak, veneered with lignum-vitae and walnut |
| Physical description | Chest of drawers of pine and oak, veneered with lignum-vitae and walnut; it is arranged in two separate parts, the upper containing four drawers, and the lower one drawer. The top is further decorated with thin sycamore bands, arranged in two concentric circles in the centre surrounded by intersecting segments; in the corners are quadrants. Each side has a large circle of similar material. The five drawers are each fitted with a brass escutcheon and two drop-handles. The whole is supported on five twisted legs, which rest on a plinth with shaped lower edges. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Bought £10. There are no details of provenance. "Veneer slightly damaged, it has been repaired" (1898). On loan to the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle from c.1950 to 1987 (RF 50-1622). |
| Bibliographic reference | H.P. Benn and H.P. Shapland, The Nation's Treasures (1910), plate 17, p. 43.
VENEERED CHEST OF DRAWERS (SEVENTEENTH CENTURY). This piece of furniture is an example of the decorative use of veneers, the whole of it being covered with a series oi what look like oyster-shell patterns, which are in reality veneers cut across the grain. The body of this chest of drawers is of pine and oak, and it is veneered with lignuni-vitze, walnut, and sycamore. All the mouldings are veneered with great skill; the proportions are not very happy, but the treatment of the veneers and the colours is very fine. The top is inlaid with a geometrical pattern with sycamore lines. The method of construction is peculiar; it looks as though the maker of this piece had added the platform beneath as an after- thought, because the chest of drawers was not quite tall enough. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1114:1-1898 |
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| Record created | September 24, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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