Featured Cabinet Help

Hello,
I recently was gifted this cabinet piece, and I'm interested in its origin. Does anyone have any knowledge on where/when it might be from?

 

Very nice, i really like that butterfly hardware if it is hardware on door center. I'd guess european, I'll guess scandinavian. Where are you & where did person who gifted say it was from?

 

They bought it off their previous house owner and they're not really sure. I got their invoice list of the stuff they bought from the estate and it doesn't seem to be on it. I thought it was the "french lacquered amour w original chinoiserie decoration" and it said 19th century but I'm not sure if that sounds quite right

 

It could very well be French & 19th century sounds right.

 

it seems like it but the chinoiserie doesn't sound right

 

The butterfly is a common motif on Chinese cabinets, is there a motif on the pulls also?
https://www.google.com/search

 

I doubt Scandinavian.

The butterfly caused me to think Asian too.

 

The bottom rail looks to have an oriental element & the orange lacquered finish as well.

 

Yes, i see that now, it isn't american i don't think & does appear to have some age.

 

It looks a lot like the Chinese import furniture that is fairly common.

It may be listed as:

"french lacquered amour w original chinoiserie decoration" and it said 19th century

but I highly doubt it.

 

They call them wedding cabinets.
I think the "antique" refers to antique red. As in the color.
Keep in mind I could be totally wrong.

I go to wholesale shows, there are usually one or two Chinese importers there with Chinese furniture.

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1....0....0...1c.1.64.img..1.0.0....0.pl7ar1aKblI

 

I am goin with Cluttered & Anundverkaufen on this one! still, an attractive cabinet i think and looks like it has some age but that age could be "applied".

 

I don't know why but many are very skittish about their location in the world, when trying to ID furniture, particularity old furniture, it's a vital piece of info

 

folks are just private.......but a lot of east coast furniture made it's way west....so where it is now may...sometimes ...be not as important as what it looks like...

 

Yeah, i get that but most do not use their real name & with over 300 million in USA for instance & millions in most european countries, i do not see a privacy issue here in ID of country where furniture was found.

 

Well, i'd say most furniture stays local, not all of course but it is an important clue i would argue.

 

My first thought was Chinese import.

 

LOL, oh Lord! dead funny Davey!
I understand the privacy thing but to hide the identity of your country is a bit silly in my view especially when posters are anonymous in every other way except to admins. I noticed AJ the other day asked a poster the very same question which poster avoided answering, SILLY i say.

 

Hi abc.It is probably Chinese and appears to be made of Elm wood which is quite a popular lightweight furniture timber. Hard to guess its origin but probably mainland China or Hong Kong. This would depend on family travels or work and any other connection with a particular region in Asia. There are thousands of new and recent versions of this Wedding Cabinet, but this one looks like it has some age based on the wear near the drawers and the doors. Based on what I can see I would estimate the latter part of the Qing dynasty so early 1900's or perhaps Republic period as recent as 1949. However, the Chinese are master craftspeople when it comes to aging furniture, so it is often hard to tell. The finish is called red lacquer, which is also very common and popular. This appears to me to be a "functional" piece of furniture, as opposed to high quality decorative or top end manufacture. However, it looks solid, well made and was probably a prized possession in the household. Also, it doesn't look split or twisted or warped, so well looked after apart from usual wear and tear. It would have been factory made but by hand.
The simple butterfly door plate is gorgeous and certainly adds to the cabinet. I haven't seen one this ornate before. Is there a place for a key to slide through to lock the doors? I can't see the necessary opposite holes.
You haven't given any dimensions (always helpful when seeking opinions) but I would guess about 1700 x 1200 as opposed to a smaller bedside table. The two inner drawers are typical of this design, and originally it would have been the main "wardrobe" and probably the only piece of furniture in the bedroom, apart from the bed.
I would expect to find only woodworking joints such as mortise and tenon, dovetail or butt joints and there should not be any nailed or screwed parts.
I am fascinated by the metal plate near the bottom two drawers, can you tell what that was used for? Some more pics would help.
In Australia, these pieces are now selling for just a few hundred dollars, but that could be different in other countries. You will find lots of reference images on google under "Chinese wedding cabinet".
I love these cabinets (I have 2 smaller ones) and hope you find a really good use for it. Enjoy