Posted 13 years ago
mr3404speed
(1 item)
My Dad got this when he was 10. It was bought from some local friends. I know nothing about this dresser/ desk. I was only limited to 4 pictures but have many more. From the dove tailing thru out the construction of this piece, Im thinking it is early 18th Century, possibly late 17th. I e-mailed Leigh Keno from Antiques Roadshow and sent him 11 pictures of this piece and as of yet i have not heard back but I am really hoping to so i can find out info about it. It is beautiful, I dont know what the wood is. It is very fancy. Even the panels on the back wich are 3 seperate pieces are all beveled as are the bottoms of drawers. There is a large wooden square mirrored vanity and mirror is beveled all around and does swivel that goes with it wich I have. I am hoping somebody out there has seen one of these and can tell me something about it.
It is a Barley twist Butler's Desk.
These were popular in the mid 19th century.
Yours appears to have hand dovetailed drawers and based on styling/ ornamentation, I would date it from about 1850s- 1870s.
The key holes on the drawers look odd-- where they filled in with something?
Scott
Hi Scott and thank you for giving me a direction. All key holes are functional and I THINK I have the key (s). I really thought this was a dresser and that is how i am using it right now. The detail is just amazing on this, even the back panels ( like plywood ) all sides are beveled. Kinda crudely but beveled none the less. I even remember the bottoms of drawers are beveled as well. This also has the huge vanity mirror mounted in a stand as well that you can pivot. I read on a website today that the wooden knobs on this were used in late 17th into 18th Century and then the dove tailing also helped me believe it was in late 17th to early 18th Century.