Featured Storage Find

Someone on another forum posted this table that was in a storage unit that they bought. It's an interesting table i think & it is probably not american, any ideas?

 

Id say possibly Japanese or Chinese,what great lines it has ! 1870s-80s would be my guess because of the western form,possibly a library table,but Im no expert.

 

Looks East Asian.

 

Yeah, neither am i on this kind of furniture! I would guess johnny is correct on 1870-80, victorian age. What about Germany in this time frame? Wonders what they were up to during victorian era, reason being, It's "heavy" construction plus the iron/steel? strap work which they were known for in middle ages chests.

 

I think probably American. Late Victorian, transitional to Arts and Crafts. Circa 1890. This is higher end furniture that appealed to men for their libraries. Likely from Grand Rapids or upstate New York.

 

Hmmmm, Brad might be on to something there, i am weak on that era of furniture. Is it ebonized or painted black originally, you think?

 

Agree on the 1890-1900 time frame, for sure. To me it has lines more like a work table than a library table; the strap work metal corner pieces could stand for picturesque (library table) or strength (work table). Could be from Germany, or the product of German craftsmen in the U.S.

 

Just old dark varnish. If you look closely, you can see the quartersawn oak wood grain.

Tried to find similar but came up blank. Have seen such over the years, many times. Not rare but also not common. Furniture like this with those brass mounts usually brings a bit of a premium. It is also usually heavy and well-built.

Did find this bookcase that would fit nicely with this.

 

If it were ebonized, then its likely that the whole thing was ebonized, and it would probably push the date on the table back to ca. 1880 or so. With those Arts and Crafts elements, that seems unlikely in the U.S.

Dunno, it just seems too robust for a library table. Despite the similarity in overall shape, library tables were usually more refined, with ebonized trim, gilt, felt, burl, etc.

 

I think you are probably correct. It is unusual to see strap work like that on american furniture, except for early pennsylvania german pieces & those are iron.
If quarter sawn oak & brass strap work, I'd guess Brad is correct.

 

Institutional table, maybe? A university library or the like would have one built to tougher standards.

 

Would be found in a house like this ......

 

Certainly possible but seems a bit small for an institutional setting. Of course, don't have dimensions so could be larger than I think. I am thinking about 48" long.

 

Is wishing the table was mine! LOL and, i don't collect victorian era furniture!
I don't think i have ever seen another like it, look at that shelf under top, the way it's attached with those arms, very unusual.

 

I want the house it fits with....

 

Yep, looks like my dream house! I can see that table being pushed around the kitchen in preparation for a big banquet....

 

LOL, naturally, the table might be MIA if i was close enough to get my hands on it! You & Brad are gonna need to go furniture shoppin!

 

I have been looking at arts & craft, even german stuff of same age, so far, no dice. Rauville on other forum thinks he was seen this form table before & it was labeled New York.

 

What's odd for me is, when i think of arts & craft metal work by stickley, roycroft, etc., it's usually "hammered" copper or some such and not smooth like this is.

 

Right, but the Arts and Crafts influence is still there. There was also a minor movement in the U.S. starting in the late 1870s in Philadelphia by firms like Kimball & Cabus, who used hardware like this in the "modern Gothic" designs.

I went back to the "other" site and read the original post. The owner said that she was specifically told that the table was not made in the U.S., which is where the Germany talk was generated.