Antique 7 drawer dresser with mirror
66h 40w 20d Carved trim, turned columns, keyholes, veneer faces?, leaf/branch/flower? drawer design. Unsure what you call the setup around the mirror. 5 drawer have no dove tails (top 2 and the 3 larger ones) and the 2 side by side drawers have dove tails. Could these have been repaired?
The story is that my family are descendents of the Morse family (as in morse code) and that this dresser came over to nebraska on a covered wagon with Reliance. Don't know much earlier than that.
Inherited
Maybe
Dear James – What a beautiful mirrored dresser, it’s late 19th century, made in the Eastlake aesthetic style which combined elements of arts and crafts, Gothic revival and in this case, a little touch a Japanese influence as well. The top of the dresser would be said to have glove drawers, candle stands and display shelves on either side.
Because the piece appears to be free from environmental damage, it’s hard for me to think that the change in drawer construction constitutes repairs. Being said, in most cases, your assumption is correct. My images are a little grainy but one of the key things to look for would be differently aged woods as the repairs should appear less oxidized than the original woods. From where I sit everything looks about the same patina.
Onto values, this type of dresser is currently selling in Auction Houses between $650USD and $700USD. A retail establishment would likely be closer to the $1500USD - $2000USD range. One more point… I have not considered the provenance of this piece in my evaluation, this is like the cherry on the top, sometimes the provenance can add a certain cache to the value, maybe 10% but I never assume it.
Thank you for submitting to Mearto, if you have any follow-up questions let me know.
Kind Regards,
Erin-Marie
