ANTIQUE 19TH CENTURY TIGER MAPLE 4 DRAWER SERPENTINE FRONT BACHELORS CHEST / DRESSER
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With our highest compliments and honor we're extremely proud to offer for sale this exceptional 19th century antique tiger maple Chippendale 4 drawer serpentine front bachelors chest / dresser. This is without a doubt one of the finest pieces of case furniture we've had the pleasure of offering for quite some time. This is a 19th century chest we believe was made around the centennial celebration. As the centennial celebration approached and was enjoyed there was a vast revisiting of arts & design from America's "Golden Age" 100 years prior.
This chest is crafted from the most select cuts of tiger maple generally reserved for instrument making. We probably handle more tiger maple furniture than anybody in the country. We regularly have great custom and more modern tiger maple furniture in stock but 18th & 19th century case pieces are rare to say the least. Most times we have a client for these before they even get in the door but this is a rare time we get to offer this to all of our clients. If this were made slightly earlier we would have sent this off to any important early American sale where chests of this form regularly hammer down past 5 figures. This chest was probably made around 1810-1840. We've made sure to show all construction and the back and bottom. At the very latest this would be a centennial chest but we strongly feel this is early 19th century. We contemplated doing the same with this but after selling commissions we'd probably end up close to our asking costs. We want to continue to push the envelope with offering more investment grade antiques on this sales platform. We've met so many wonderful people here and try to reserve the absolute best for our personal clients. This is a classic Massachusetts form with a wonderfully executed serpentine front and molded overhung serpentine top. The chest has absolutely wonderful scrolling and cut out patterns along the base. The tiger maple used in this chest is top tier finished in a golden amber color. The drawers are constructed with hand cut dovetails and hand chamfered New England pine secondaries. Each drawer is decorated with Chippendale bat wing brasses and escutcheon plates. The top two drawers retain their original locks, the bottom two drawers never had locks. This chest is in such pristine condition with the only thing we can note being a small seasoning split on the top. This is stable and at no risk of spreading. The back and bottom are wonderful exactly what you'd expect to see. This slightly later example of an 18th century Massachusetts masterpiece is among our favorite new additions surely to find a new home quickly. This chest measures 32 1/2" wide x 20" deep x 30 1/2" tall.
