Green Primitive Cabinet

Stuck my foot in it.
The SO is out of town all week, there is no room to stick it in the auction till the sale, I have to leave my truck all day in Atlanta tomorrow, and the Antique Mall is closed tomorrow and no one will be there Tuesday to help unload
But I just couldnt leave it behind all alone in the corner of the shed....
So I bought it
It took 4 men to load it on the back of my truck.

You can literally smell the sweet sap coming from the wood.
At first I thought the flowers were hand painted but they are already decoupaged.
Its extremely dirty. I cleaned it a little and a red like dirt came off. There are several several layers of it.
I dont think it was recently painted, the finish has an alligator texture

The pictures I have arent good because I cant stand it up myself but I was hoping what I do have would be enough to help me date it.





Inside




Decoupage




Hardware








Outside

 

Sweet!

"red like dirt" - you DO live in Georgia, right?

With that sap, and the interior looking so clean, it may not be a true "antique" yet? Exterior certainly looks aged, though.

 

Yes, but idk, it doesnt look much like clay to me, there is an orange tone to clay, this was almost a purple red.

I was curious about the sap as well, but if the cabinet was moved to a different climate recently (inside to outside) and the heat and humidity worked on it, would it cause the cabinet to "weep"?

 

I don't really understand why pieces like this are called "primitive"
I mean they aren't very ornate or new but not stone age cave furniture either.

As far as the look goes (apart from the decoupage) it's much similar to cabinets throughout the times all the way to current day.

 

Purple red - well that IS a clay of a different color.

Looks like it used to have shelf/shelves inside?

As for the sap, idk either. Brad might have more to say, being the furniture/wood guy.

And I'm not so sure I would call it "primitive" either, although I could see it having been a homemade project.

 

Country pine or folk art cabinet could be a good way to describe it.

 

I think its a primitive style / country made wardrobe someone " gussied " up in the 30s . That frame on the left side obviously held a mirror , and is obviously added . As for it weeping , I moved a set of pine steps to my back door when I added my front porch , and though they are a decade old and been painted a 100 times , they started doing the same thing . I guess because of being in the sun longer during the day .

 

I think Johnny has the gist on this. It is a country or carpenter built pine wardrobe that has been gussied up. Probably third quarter of the 19th century or so. He is right on the money about the weeping pine as well, although this could have occurred a long time ago and hardened in place. If it was in the shed a long time, I imagine it could have seen several cold/hot fluctuations over the years. This also causes the paint to alligator.

 

Sometimes there can be some great deals to be had at auction since not everybody has a pickup truck handy or has room for large pieces/lots. Once a local auctioneer sold the entire contents of a basement and it has lots of nice saleable items. At the time I couldn't buy it since I didn't have the room.

 

I bought this at an estate sale to flip at the auction I work for.
We have an antique auction every friday but itll be a few weeks before our
"big auction"

 

With the dirt off, it might do well.

 

I might replace that mirror if I were you. My first inclination is to remove the mirror frame completely but I see the paint underneath is a different color. Your other option would be to place an old decorative advertisement or such in the frame. It needs something.

 

Yeah, I have a piece of glass from a picture frame I practiced "antiquing" with the mirror spray paint. It should fit in there.
I thought about removing the frame as well, but it would be all you could look at when looking at the piece.

I like the idea of adding an advertising piece in there as well


My boss looked at it today in passing and thought it was a early southern piece.
I agree.
We picked up a piece today in Alabama that was built very similar to this one.