Campaign chest of drawers, Age and wood type?

This is a pattern. The O.P. creates a thread asking for our collective opinion. They have "knowledge" of the piece which they do not share. They're hoping we'll all chime in and agree (unbeknownst) with them.

In this case the furniture "regulars" agree that this is 20th century mahogany. This is not what the O.P. wanted to hear. Instead of accepting this opinion, or at worst just walking away from the post, the O.P. digs in his heels, casting aspersions on our knowledge and becoming irritable and contrary. It seems as if !) the O.P. wants to sell the piece and has just seen his asking price plummet or 2) the O.P. bought the piece and is now discovering he's been ripped off. So of course the O.P. is right and we are wrong.

If the O.P. persists with this post or creates another post with which we disagree, he becomes rude and abusive, after which he is banned. Just another version of "if it's mine, it must be worth a fortune!"

 

So despite me providing evidence to the contrary and no one disputing the points I've made I'm expected to accept your unfounded and unproven assumptions like you are the only members on here with a opinion or I'll get banned? ridiculous.... As for this being "wants to sell" or "bought the piece and is now discovering he's been ripped off" I think you will find this chest is in photos from when I first joined years ago, I keep my clothes in it, it's used everyday, I have no intention of selling. Just because I've questioned (rightfully) what you are saying, I mean who can't tell hand cut dovetails or look up quarter beading on known Victorian campaign chests ect. The reason I didn't just not reply is because I didn't expect members to be so uninformed and still make a comment like they knew what they were talking about, perhaps that's the reason why I comment so little, I only make a comment when I'm sure and if I'm not entirely sure and still comment I make that clear, if someone then provides evidence to the contrary I am happy that I've learned something new that day.

 

Because I didn't know if it was a 18th c or 19th c piece and I did want to know what the wood was. I've been told Mahogany, something that could have been teak or camphor wood.

 

The fact is, you can't authenticate furniture with photos alone and, the limited photos you have provided don't help much. No pics of the drawer bottoms, the back of the chest, etc. If you want better comments, provide better photos.
There are hand-cut dovetails being produced as I write this post all over the world by cabinetmakers, by both professionals & hobbyists. Indeed, in the USA hand made drawer boxes were the norm until 1900 when they finally developed machines to do that task. It's reported that in the UK hand made drawer boxes were the norm until the mid-1930s. You seem to have all your eggs in that dovetail basket.
Bottom line? hand-cut dovetails are not the be all end all in dating furniture.

 

The better photo argument was one I made in my first comment on the thread and explained why I hadn't, had members said that from the photos they couldn't tell because the photos were so bad I would have understood.
I agree, the dovetails and the hand plane marks are no cast iron proof it was made in the 19th c but do indicate it was made by hand and not factory made.
Whilst doing the research to prove it is period I have answered the questions I was asking in the first place, I have no need to continue this thread, any evidence I've gleaned would be pointless to post as I've already posted evidence but it was ignored.
I have had PM's saying I should just leave it, so I will.

 

My parents lived in Indonesia in the late 70's. he had a campaign desk made out of mahogany that looks very similar. with the same hardware and hand cut dovetails. His is in three parts -desk top with drawers sitting on two "file cabinet" one on each side supporting the top.

 

Chinese made , Mahogany , 1930-1950 , that's my guess....... or Thai, or Indonesia , possibly Philippines ..... I think I see some Luan Mahogany in the drawer bottoms.

 

Would anyone like to provide a single example of these fabled Asian 1950's hand cut dovetailed campaign chests? I would like to see one.

 

Well, this thread has become quite a hornet's nest, hasn't it. The things the pandemic does to us.

I only know of the Indian ones which were hugely popular in the 1980s-90s. They were generally made in Hoshiarpur, and they look very different from raver's.

As to a British style campaign chest in Indonesia in the late 70's, it could have come there during the British occupation of Indonesia during the early 19th century. There are also many 'Dutch-Indonesians' who are part British, another way a British style campaign chest could appear in Indonesia.

A bit on the background of European culture in Indonesia:
Dutch-Indonesians are a mix of European and Asian. They can be part Dutch, Portuguese, German, French, Swedish, etc. Quite a few Dutch-Indonesians have British surnames.
There was extensive mixing of Europeans and locals because for a long time the only way a European trader could have any succes was through connections with local rulers. Also, Europeans were not allowed to own land. Marrying a local woman was a way around that, especial in the matrifocal regions where land was owned by women anyway.

 

The scuffle was with the Boers, hence the name Boer Wars. The Dutch had exited the Cape about a century earlier, since the VOC (Dutch East India Company) was bankrupt anyway.
The Boers are people of European Protestant origin. Mostly German, French and Eastern Dutch. For example, Paul Kruger, well known Boer leader, was of Prussian origin. A more recent radical leader, Eugène Terre'Blanche, was of Huguenot (French) origin.
The lingua franca of the Boers is Afrikaans, related to Dutch. Afrikaans is also spoken by the native Khoi and in the local Muslim communities.

 

So he was, after a dispute over payment. I will correct my post to past tense.

 

????? Who in the hell is that!
It seems we have entered the Twilight Zone on this thread!

 

Not anyone we have to worry about anymore.

I thought we were already there, with the suggestion of cannibalism on the first page.

 

The thing is, we don't find your evidence convincing. This kind of furniture has been made continuously for a couple hundred years. Dovetails are still cut by hand and Indonesian workshops are turning furniture out of all kinds of quality today. I spoke to what I saw in your pictures. This does not look like hundred year old mahogany to me and is similar to plantation mahogany being used today. The hardware on your chest is also not convincing. I would love to be proven wrong but have not seen evidence to convince me.

 

Ok lets just say you are not using the tried and tested method of construction, techniques and tool marks to date it, what will you be using?

 

To start with, would like to see drawer bottoms and back. An interior shot would be nice. Evidence of joinery? Any saw marks?

 

So you are going to use joinery as evidence? I thought that wasn't any proof at all? I did think you had some sort of dendrochronology thing going on? Look I'm happy to go to all the hassle of taking more pictures but we will have to establish how you are going to date this, this thread has been less than kind, they haven't even taken anytime to address the points I've made, even in your last but one comment you just say "The thing is, we don't find your evidence convincing" no why or evidence to the contrary other than "does not look like hundred year old mahogany" and "The hardware on your chest is also not convincing" (maybe that's down to the brasso I used to polish the brass, there is still residue left round the edges)
This thread has seen plenty of assumptions but no evidence of convincing campaign chests coming from Asia in the last 50 years or so.
Am I really expected to believe with 30 years of experience in antiques (in the UK) and more than 100 antiques in the house that I could have a recent copy for years (using it every day) and not notice?
You have seen some of my stuff, it's not small time, I have some major pieces.
If I go down the route of photos of joinery and tool marks will I have someone say that's no proof like before?