Featured NEED HELP with Antique Victorian table

And where do I send the container to?

 

We've been going through a cycle where nobody wants brown furniture, as it's called. I've seen styles come and go. I never heard of anyone bemoaning the fact that a piece WASN'T painted, but I sure hear people complain about pieces that were. You can lightly refinish this so it's nice looking, but I'd really cringe at painting it.

 

We visit Flanders a lot and that is the Lion of Flanders. Here is the Flemish flag. We have one that we put up when our friends visit us. I'm also including a photo of the carved lion on one of the benches in the City Hall in Kortrijk.

 

I'd buy it in a heartbeat if it were in the States!

 

Well feel free to perhaps look into any delivery services that would ship something like this from uk to Us as it is for sale

 

Well feel free to get in touch as it is for sale

 

It's funny because I sell a lot of "brown" furniture. It's not popular in the UK but Americans here love it. If I was going to be there any time soon I'd contact you but my next buy won't be until August and I'm sure it will be gone long before that. Don't paint it It's a beauty.

 

Ah that is a shame! Yeah I know for sure the Americans love English Victorian furniture! I am Defo not going to paint this at all haha I have listed it for sale and will see what happens but I may do a bit of restoring if I get no interest thank you for your help

 

Not the Americans in my neck of the woods (semi-rural Midwest). I quit buying any good antique furniture because it just sits. The only dealer of such furniture in our group shop is going out of business for good later this month. We have a whole thread devoted to brown furniture that some of you may not have seen.....

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/antique-vintage-brown-furniture.9225/

 

Sorry to hear about the antique furniture business around you Brad! It's a shame because I'd prefer furniture with a story and some history and elegance over Ikea any day :,) Hopefully someone opens another store near you soon when people get interested in it again!

 

First of all, there is no conflict between the Flemish or Brabant lions or the nations they represent, they are very closely related.
We are talking history and heraldry here, and those are partly shared between Brabant and Flanders. As a frequent visitor to Belgian Flanders you probably know that a major part of the Flemish region is Brabant, including the important cities of Antwerp and Brussels. You also know that Flanders proper includes parts of France and The Netherlands.

According to records, the lion of Flanders, proper name: Flemish Lion, was probably introduced in the 14th century. But it only received official status in 1990. It was based on the Brabant Lion which has been in use since the 11th century and received official status in 1106. More than eight centuries before the Flemish Lion.
When the Flanders Lion came into being, the Flemish used exactly the same colours as the Brabanders, only in reverse. This was not due to a lack of imaginaton, but as an hommage to the original Brabant Lion, and a sign that they wanted an enduring alliance with Brabant.
The Brabant Lion is also the symbol of Belgium and of Flemish speaking Belgium, which includes parts of Flanders and Brabant.
The only difference between the two lions are the colours, Brabant - gold lion on black, Flanders - black lion on gold. Unpainted they look exactly the same.

The style of this table is classic chunky Dutch Brabantia Nostra, made in either Oisterwijk or Oirschot.
Belgium has beautiful furniture styles, but, though related, this isn't one of them. Their carving is usually more fussy, and the furniture usually more elegant. And, by the way, mostly made in the towns of Mechelen and Leuven, which are in Belgian Brabant, not Flanders.
The claim that an unpainted lion on a Dutch piece is Flemish, can only be substantiated if there is proof that the table was made for use in Flanders proper. We don't have that proof, and I think the Flemish would rather have had a more elegant Belgian table.
So, because the table is Dutch, and the lion is not painted, there is no reason to assume the lion is Flemish, Hollands, Scottish, etc. Until we have proof to the contrary, it would be fair to assume it is the original, ancient Brabant Lion, as it appears on most Brabantia Nostra furniture.

As I said, there is no conflict between the two nations and one lion is based on the other. Whenever plans of independence are voiced, either to get away from French-speaking Belgians or from Hollanders (the dominant west of The Netherlands), Dutch and Belgian Brabant and Flanders speak of getting back together. Economically there would be no problem at all, and even politicians in the German Rhineland (also one of the historic Low Countries) spoke of joining such a union. History will tell.

Coat of arms of the province of Noord (north) Brabant, The Netherlands:


Flag of the Belgian king, with Brabant Lion:

 

Don't worry - I've had plenty of history lessons over the past 25 years from our friends in Kortrijk! I have a 'golden spur' from the previous Burgemeester, Stefaan de Clerck.

 

History, another disorder I can blame on genetic strains. My father was a historian (amongst others...), my mother knew more about art history than I'll ever know.

 

...I might add that the Flemish are not all that fond of the Walloons. Thus the reference to the Golden Spur - the battle where they beat the pants, or at least the spurs,off the French.

 

it looks like one from these lines of furniture but a bit older

 

Loved this discussion and tips on treating oak. As a long-time expat resident of Brabant (but the Walloon part) it was also agood little history lesson. Thanks. Ursula

 

Nice to see a design specifically defined as 'Any Jewelry' has provided. I'd enrich the patina of the wood, giving it more of a look of a piece 400 years old....it can really enhance the appearance.

 

I swear I'm going to start shipping brown stuff to the US. I think twenty quid was about right for here - I'd not see it as more than forty. It's useful and well made but sadly very out of fashion. And I mean sad: there's someone local to me seling a glorious Arts and Crafts oak wardrobe, with copper inserts and she's had no takers with an asking price of a hundred!

 

If I had the energy, I probably would.

 

Well, you'd probably need A LOT of energy. It's still being imported to USA but one needs to be smart about it if the plan is to make a profit. Like that arts n craft wardrobe that's sitting, it would most likely sit here as well, why? it's size, is probably why it's sitting there, to big for today's realities.
Change that wardrobe into a curio or display cabinet with glass? SOLD!