Posted 7 years ago
Oaknut
(1 item)
Need help identifying the age, period, style, etc of this oak piece. The pics may not show it, but the mirror is beveled and the doors are glass. Thank you for your input!
Oak Buffet/Sideboard? | ||
| Unsolved mystery items33556 of 95732 |  |  |
Arts & Crafts, mission style. Circa 1910.
Any marks on the back? Inside drawers? Bottom of drawers?
Celiene, I couldn't find any marks.
I tend to think 1910 is a stretch. You don't show any joinery, drawers etc. but you do show the mirror and in two pictures one caster shows but not clearly. I would sooner think this is 30's or early 40's. The mirror being beveled glass means little. The mirror in your picture is crystal clear. A mirror from 1910 should show signs of flaking around the edges. That was an era when mirrors evolved from mercury backed to silver backed. Regardless of the backing there should be either flaking or dim areas or both. As for being oak we can't tell that from a picture but I wouldn't rule out it being ash. The grains of the two woods are quite similar and believe it or not ash is more in demand than oak in vintage furniture.
fhrjr2, the drawer joints are tongue in groove, and the piece is on casters.
By the 30's or 40's arts & crafts/mission was way out of fashion. And I think this is an original piece, not a modern reproduction.
Quater sawn oak vas very popular, the majority of arts & craft furniture was made from it. Also, I think the glass in the doors are a replacement. Most glass was coloured & leaded and in the top of the dresser, rather than the bottom. Likely there were oak panels originally.
Do a google image search; mission side board, mission dresser, mission buffet & you'll find plenty of comparable pieces. If you google arts & crafts dresser; you'll probably get a good mix of English ones too - they can be quite different in style but still share many of the same design elements.
My thing is English Arts & Crafts but I've seen plenty of American too. I expect though someone who knows more about American can tell you more about your piece.
Shame there's no label on your piece, many of the great makers labeled or marked their pieces. There are many reference books which might help you identify a maker. Check out your local library.
Oaknut - I see it is on casters but I can't see the caster clearly. Are they leather and brass? Porcelain and brass? Steel and brass? Each is from a different time period. As for the drawers being tongue and groove??????? are you confused with dovetail joints? They should be dovetail and the way the joint is cut makes a date easier. If you can please make another post with details of the casters, drawer joinery and back side of mirror.