Can anyone identify what type of piece of furniture this is?

My mom's house recently burned down and I am in charge of cataloging all of her antiques. This is a piece she inherited from her mother when she passed. We do not have a lot of information on it. Does anyone know what this piece would be called?
I have not had any luck with finding a piece identical to it. It may not even be a true antique. Please help.

 

I'm so sorry...........I will have to go back and take a look after a bit............that photo upset me.................not your fault, I'm just feeling very brittle and sensitive these days...................

 

sideboard.......it's got the feel of an old item...

 

I completely understand. This is only one loss of dozens. Most we were able to find details on, this one is just so unknown to me.

 

give our furniture guys time to get here.......we'll figure it out best we can..

 

Technically, I think that were one to sell it, it would be called a "Victorian Whatnot," (An exceptionally elaborate one.)

Google to see similar ones.

 

I tried pulling up Victorian Whatnot, Curio, etc cabinet for comparables and didn't get anything.

Time period 1880s - 19teens.
A few years ago prices would have been about $500-700, depending on inlay, wood, condition of mirrors etc.
Today we're lucky to get $2-300.
I'm in Northern CA.
Location makes a difference on values. Wait for someone else to give an opinion.

Very sorry to hear about your mother's loss. So heartbreaking to loose special memories.

 

Welcome Susan.
Very sorry to hear of the fire, totally understand you and your mother are heartbroken. Good luck.

 

I'd call it a late Victorian hall-stand. A what-not is a much smaller shelving object.

It would not have been valuable enough to require specific mention under most house contents insurance policies which usually just count the rooms and apply a generic figure to each one based on average house contents.

US insurer's practices may differ from British insurers.

 

I also would call this a curio cabinet or, maybe, and etagere with a cabinet. Agree with an 1880-1900 dating. It is a nice cabinet that will be hard to evaluate/replace.

 

I am finding a few similar things. Here is one that sold on ebay for good money but it looks like the sale fell through and it is relisted at less.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gorgeous-An...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Given enough time, I am sure one could find something similar for less. Here are several pages of some that sold at auction to peruse. Many are not very similar but there are some that are.

https://new.liveauctioneers.com/sea...word":"victorian etagere","status":"archive"}

 

From what I see, the first link that Brad posted looks to be closest in likeness to what the OP's Mother lost in the fire!

Oh and Hi and WELCOME, Susan. So sorry for your Mother's loss.

 

I'll second af, hall stand not what not. I suspect mahogany or a veneer of same.

What a shame for your mother.

 

Hall stand must mean something different over on your side of the pond. This is what we would call a hall stand (or hall tree) here in the US. The primary characteristic would be having hooks to hang your coats.



In searching hall stand, I come up with English versions of the above so must really mean the same thing. Would your still call the OP's piece a hall stand since it has no hooks? We would not.

 

I would. Not all the ones here have hooks: you'd have put all sorts of Useful Stuff on and in them, including a card tray. In a smart hall, it would have been a show off piece of furniture, not to be covered in garments. Those would have been squirreled away by one's parlourmaid.

 

The ones with hooks, by the way, would be for hats rather than coats.

 

For clarification and comparison purposes only, from me, this is the one that Brad showed, that I THOUGHT, was the most similar to Susan's Mothers.........

 

Sorry to learn of your recent loss. I hope that your Mother is o.k.. It is very kind of you to undertake this for her.

 

Now that my nerves have settled and I am able to look at the OP's photo without tearing up, I agree. Ditto the terminology used by the Yanks....................Though I also agree that this could be useful in the foyer, I'd not want to display any "too special" there as no one could appreciate it during the bit of time spent waiting for the "Come Through"....................I'd put it in the drawing room and let the visitors drool over my pretties (na, na, see what I have and you don't!!)

 

Bit late on the reply but it is a Victorian chiffonier and quite common in the UK. If they are ebonised they are fondly known in the trade as black widows.