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madelines* · ‎03-12-2013

Hi I am seeking assistance to pinpoint a style and era of this piece. Not sure if it has been "renovated" in its life. The top is made from piece of slate. I have no idea of the timber type 😞

Any advice will most appreciated.

siddieswans · ‎03-12-2013

Gee it's hard from looking at a photo like this. Your best bet is to look at the back of the piece - does it look like it's always been together? The mirror being part of the tile back, and also being part of the chest? Does the carving of the mirror match the carving of the supports that go onto the slate - could it be black marble? (Slate in an antique piece is possible but uncommon.) How is it all held together- consistent with aged furniture - that is, screwed / dowelled?

To me it is an unusual-looking piece of furniture - that does not mean it is not genuinely old, often pieces were put together at home. (I have several family pieces built by tradesmen for a particular purpose, which do not follow conventional patterns.) It is not a conventional wash stand, because they had at least one cupboard below (for the potty). The chest part has the conventional 2 short above 2 long drawers, and the handles look original, but (to my eye) it is not tall enough to be a conventional chest of drawers. It could be a dressing chest. Or it could be a dressing table mirror on top of a washstand back, on top of a bedroom chest of drawers. I can't see if there is a carved bracket at the feet - ideally all the carved elements should match. The mirror looks to have a bevelled edge, which is good.

Stylistically it looks Edwardian / Federation c1910. Wood? No idea - oak or pine are probably most likely. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable about furniture will come along.

madelines* · ‎03-12-2013

Thanks siddles

Having a closer look at it, I think it has been made up from a number of older pieces. The bloke where I purchased it from (Antique shop in Yarra Glen) said that it was unusual as the top was slate - but thats just what he said - not sure how to verify if is, it looks like marble - but very, very worn, and it seems to have weight of marble .

some more pics

madelines* · ‎03-12-2013

just a pic of the edge is rougher than one would expect a marble finish to be - and it looks a bit like it has been coated or painted ?

lakeland27 · ‎03-12-2013

I think its a washstand, and part of a bedroom suite . the tops are usually marble, but painted faux marble was used sometimes (its more common on a fireplace surround for example) these tend to be kauri pine, but different timbers were used and photos make identifying the timber diifficult. i think S Swans is correct re the date, its age is somewhere around there.

madelines* · ‎03-12-2013

Thank you lakeland.

I will list it with lots of unknowns and maybes in the descriptions.

I think I will take out the drawer and wander around with it until I strike someone who can ID the timber for me.

lakeland27 · ‎03-12-2013

here's a fireplace surround with a faux-marble finish, i don't know if the fern was added later or not. it looks the same age in the flesh (or should that be 'timber' ) if you look at the inside of the drawers, the reverse of the drawer front.. the colour is usually more visible there. if its a light colour with almost no knots its probably kauri . most of them are.