Age of cabinet?

[frogpatch]

Every once in a while when looking at a piece of furniture my gut says something just does not look right. That is what happening for me with this piece. I think the preformed detail and intentionally aged paint are it. I would like to see the back and the bottom where the true age of the piece would be more evident. It has over embellishment also in my opinion. I am not by any means an expert but I have bought and sold a lot of vintage and antique furniture and I would go with my gut on this one.

[mart]

 I am with you Frogpatch,, I wouldn`t touch it !!

[snowflake]

Hope you don't mind me highjacking your post. Mine is nowhere near as nice, and it has been repainted more times than I can count. But someone in my husbands family would have built this for the kitchen, which is pretty cool. Not made of any special wood, or detail.

[mart]

I think its as cute as can be Snowflake !!

[snowflake]

Thanks, mart.   

I know it is plain but it is one of my favorite things here.

[talesofthesevenseas]

I ran a Google image search and found a lot of similar shell-topped cupboards, but the ones that I saw were built-in architectural features. That too worries me a little, does anyone know if these were made as stand-alone furniture?

[KC]

IN my neck of the woods I have seen them as built ins....but then salvage yards do have them with renovations abounding with the economy.

I googled and found quite a few....this one has plaster but still is over priced!
http://www.columbusarchitecturalsalvage.com/catalogdetail.php?inv_id=325

[jacon4]

Generally speaking, these cupboards were built into a corner(s) of the room in period which is why they are almost always painted. The ones that are period are almost always made from pine/poplar as you see many come to market stripped of paint. I dont think this is any thing to worry about though as they are salvaged from old houses that are being torn down/remodeled and in any case this cupboard on ebay is a repro. Probably the most famous period architectural corner cupboards in America were made on the Eastern Shore of VA and are quite spectacular although very pricy, even if un-restored.

The ad says this cupboard was made in France in the 1st half of the 20th century so its most likely container goods shipped here from europe that did not sell at auction for one reason or another.

The shell looks like metal to me.

I am going with snowflake on this one, it does look like metal but hey, whats wrong with that?

[hosman321]

Your cabinet is very pretty snowflake, I like it! It reminds me of this other one I like on CL. But I don't really LOVE it.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/atq/2723102238.html

Thank you for your reply too, Jacon. I think I will pass on the blue eBay one. I asked if she could please post a few more pictures and if she could do a shipping quote to my house. I went to the site she listed but you have to sign up for the site and I really didn't want to. She uploaded 1 more picture and told me to do my own shipping quote. 



On a side note, I find this buffet absolutely gorgeous. I think I just really like the mirror. 
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/atq/2724892216.html

[jacon4]

I dont know how it works on Ebay but in the antique furniture world shipping is always the responsibility of the buyer. The past few years i have been using uship.com, mostly small operators that bid for the shipment online, its much cheaper than national chains & pretty good service too.

[snowflake]

Thanks, hosman!
I think the metal looks cool! But that's just my opinion. The other shell one is nice too! I have never seen them with the shells before. And that buffet is gorgeous!
I don't know if they were ever built as stand alone cabinets back when. I have an 86 year old carpenter a few doors down who worked on prop sets for tv and movies. After he saw our build in he made one (much nicer) for his daughter. It looked like an antique when he was finished. Just gorgeous!

I have never bought anything so large, about how much would shipping be for a piece of furniture like that? I have no clue at all.

[jacon4]

Agrees, metal is fine, ditto plaster and MUCH cheaper than carved wood, trust me. High End cabinetmakers still build these architec. shell cupboards and hire a carver for the carving, Mary May of Charleston SC comes immediately to mind, a world class carver if there ever was one. The wood alone would cost more than this entire cupboard, nevermind the carving. Shipping on something like this from uship would be in the $200-$300 range.
http://www.marymaycarving.com/Antique%20furniture%20reproductions.htm

[mart]

Wow !!  That Federal style corner cupboard of hers is nice !!  Corner cupboards are not that hard to find here in the south !! Many older houses have them but oddly enough,, a lot of people don`t like them here !!

[KC]

jacon4 thanks for the link.  Enjoying it!

I will add 2 cents on the piece that this all started with.  For the original money asked....if it is metal....it is a bit pricey in my opinion.  If it is from France, hope there is documentation to prove it for those that want it.

This style is made ALL THE TIME here in larger homes in the southern US.  They are able to reproduce so easily by prefabricated pieces of which we installed some ourselves several years back because real plaster relief fork was $$$$$$$$$.  The most readily and cost effective are generally made of a polyurethane material these days whereas in the 90's was considered fiberglass:  Just to show what is available out there have a attached a listing for such a supplier (have never done business with them just felt their site showed a good glimpse of what is out there).
http://www.crownmoldings.net/ccp0-splash/KHXCseo.html

[jacon4]

While we are on the subject of architectural corner cupboards, joiners (house carpenters) on the Eastern Shore of Va. stumbled upon what is considered a masterpiece in American furniture. Most of these cupboards were painted (paint was a big deal in the 18th century) with a few made from walnut. Many of these cupboards are now in museums but every once in awhile one comes to market. Last year at the Gray (founding father of MESDA) sale, an outstanding example was offered at auction with an estimate of 16k-18k, it sold for over $70,000 with BP.
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/7200937