I purchased an oriental cedar chest at a local antique/flea market event.
I am wondering if anyone can help me determine value or identification. The seller knew nothing about the chest, but I would like to learn as much as I can. I would appreciate any insight into where to look to determine information concerning value, age, material, style... anything!
Asking price was $185 and I got it for $135. I thought this was a great price. Upon first notice, I figured it would be priced at $300+
General Facts/Observations:
38" long, 17" wide and ~17" tall
Stained wood exterior and light cedar wood interior
All 5 sides feature deeply ornate carvings of oriental scenes
Not as heavy as it looks; pretty lightweight actually
No identifying marks, numbers, initials, stamps, etc...
The panels consist of oriental water scenes with boats (called junks, I believe), oriental styled homes, mountains, dragons, a coastline, and what I believe is a bridge.
The scenes are incredibly ornate and detailed. Appears to be deeply hand-carved. There is a metal front hinge/clasp (brass?) that is also heavily detailed and engraved. The carvings are pretty deep and very detailed and exacting.
The interior is very bare, plain cedar; nothing special whatsoever.
I made an album on photobucket, as I am not sure how to add pictures directly to this posting. Please click the link to see all the pics (15). Thank you in advance for any advice you may have!! Please ask questions! I would love to discover more about this chest !!
LINK ------------->
http://s601.photobucket.com/albums/tt93/cjlerch/ Click the picture to enlarge it to see the details and info captions.
