LATE 19TH CENTURY ANTIQUE VICTORIAN TIGER OAK DOUBLE DOOR BOOKCASE W/ CARVED GROTESQUE NORTH WIND FACES
Thank you for shopping with Bay Colony Antiques. We're a third generation family owned business furnishing homes all over the world. We aggressively pursue important antiques, decorative arts, and objects of interest for our most discerning clients.
We're delighted to offer for sale this exceptional 19th century antique Victorian tiger oak heavily carved double door Horner bookcase. This double door bookcase is an absolute gem with great attention to detail and charm. The bookcase is made of quartersawn oak with two large glass doors. The doors have fantastic old glass with old seeding marks and a prevalent desirable wavy look. The upper crown is decorated with a crisp & balanced egg and dart trim carving. The center frieze has a wonderful north wind or grotesque face with acanthus carvings, flanked by expertly carved floral rosettes & two additional grotesque carved faces on either end. Carvings of this nature were popular in mythology and were inspired in part by gargoyles from Gothic architecture. We believe this is a Horner bookcase considering the age and quality & complexity of carvings. Just like every Tiffany lamp isn't worth $40k, not all Horner pieces command stratospheric prices. They were a prolific cabinet making shop and produced goods on the better - best tier. We try to offer a good dozen or so bookcases / chinas at any given time and can absolutely say this is one of the finest we've had in some time. The vertical stiles on the bookcase have a fluted profile that gracefully brings your attention front and center to the carvings. The interior has four adjustable shelves that sit in on shelf pins. This came out of the home in immaculate condition with our only note being it's missing a key and an escutcheon plate. We're sure we have a period accurate one to replace it with and will do so for our end client. The base molding is further carved with an uncommon stylized cornucopia or a stylized flower carving. The cabinet is stamped 3996 on the back and again written on the back. The bookcase measures 49 1/2" wide x 15" deep x 62 1/2" tall.
