Please can someone assist and let me know what this is/when from? It's at least 60 years old. My grandmother had it when she was a child. It's very heavy and over 2.2 meters tall.
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It appears to be an amazing Gentleman's Wardrobe. Without seeing it opened it's difficult to say. Wardrobes (aka chifferobes, cupboards) were common, practical pieces of furniture in the 1800's and into the 1900's.
It is a place to store clothing.
Beautiful piece of history as I believe it is much older than 60 years..
At first glance - it looked like a torture chamber!
Sorry, I just had to say this.
You will find the general public will call these by many names; mainly because the definition of the names are very vague and generally used for all sorts of styles.
General names used: (and many will argue the point of which is which).
Wardrobe - Chiffonier - Chifforobe - Armoire
I have always leaned toward this style being a wardrobe (Chifforobe/Chiffonier being a name used after 1900 I think) because it will hold hanging clothes as well as folded and drawers for the 'personal' items.
Yours appears to be gentleman's wardrobe due to the short hanging area as ladies would need the long hanging area.
Have you looked for markings or numbers on the back or inside the drawers? This would be a big help in identifying your piece.
If this belonged to me I would post my question on several free appraisal sites so I could learn as much as possible about this authentic item.
If you should decide you really want to know all about this piece, you will need several good pictures: full front closed and full front opened, side pictures and back pictures. Also, take a drawer out and take pictures of construction.
You really need to know the value of this piece so you can be sure you have sufficient insurance coverage - or if you ever decide to sell it.
Check these sites and post back with what information you obtain.
Wow!! What an amazing piece of handiwork!
Everyone has give you really good info on what it is.
You may never find an exact match to yours. The biggest reason for this is many people converted these pieces into other uses than clothing--the two biggest conversions are into TV stands (modern) and into gun cabinets (throughout history).
It is possible yours had the drawers added because of someone's needs...it is hard to tell. Some had a bar to hang clothes. Some did not.
I found one online with a very similar front (different inside) that has a $1,500 price tag on it from a place in FLA that sells eclectic pieces (which this is!). This is an asking price, but I believe it will sell for somewhere in the range of $1,000 to the asking price based on history.
www.mogulinterior.com/
If you are going to sell it, I would suggest having it sold through a dealer/store/shop or better yet a real auction house! I think this piece is quite valuable because it is so unique. Most "brown" furniture has no value in today's US markets (it is different in other countries). This piece is the exception to that rule since it is so unique and can be used by so many different types of people in so many different ways!
Thanks for sharing it!!
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