Virginia Federal Walnut Cellarette, ca. 1800
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GUEST:
Well, it belonged to my husband's grandmother, and we've had it about six years. I actually use it as a file cabinet. (laughing) We really didn't know what it was. A friend of the family said, "I think that's a sugar chest," and that's the only thing I know about what it could be. Files fit great in it, so...
APPRAISER:
Okay, so part of the way to figure that out is to look at the inside, and before I open it, notice this beautiful, single-board, walnut top with these batten ends, this beautiful color, but inside, let's see if we get any clues in here. It's just an empty box, right?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
There's nothing in there. If this had been a sugar chest, it would have been slightly different in that it would have had usually two dividers. Sugar came in cones, and they would have divided it into maybe three sections inside. So we've just got this empty box, and there are no scars on the side where it had mortises or anything. But if you look very closely on all four sides, there's one single nail hole. Originally, when this was made, it likely had a frame there that would have had dividers for bottles. So this was for the family liquor.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
So this is a cellarette rather than a sugar chest.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Both of those are generally considered uniquely Southern forms. The piece is made of walnut top to bottom. It's very finely made. It has beautiful dovetails on the side and on the drawers. It has period hinges on the back with beautiful rose head nails on them. So the piece itself is fairly intact. It does have some things that have happened to it over the years. The brass plate here that covers the escutcheon is a later replacement. There's an odd little patch on your side over there. Maybe it got a gouge in it or something. It's a very shallow patch. So it's not flawless, but really, it's very intact, which is unusual. This piece would date to maybe 1800 or 1810. So over those 200-plus years, these beautiful, delicate, tall legs, which is part of what really is the magic of this piece, are all intact. Southern cellarettes tend to be very consistent in their design, and there are pieces like this that have been attributed to a maker in Gates County, North Carolina, which is just on the North Carolina side of Virginia. And there are also Virginia cases that have been attributed to other makers or unknown makers. Either way, it's somewhere in that line. Given the family history in Richmond, I'm inclined to put it on the Virginia side. But this is an object that is prized by collectors. So it came down through the family, and it really is pretty special. At auction, I would expect this piece to bring maybe between $12,000 and $18,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh! You're kidding!
APPRAISER:
So this really is... it's a great object.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh!
APPRAISER:
So don't break a leg, don't put too many files in it.
GUEST:
I can't put my files in this now!
APPRAISER:
You can! It's there to be used. But I would just put the important files, maybe the thin files in it.
GUEST:
Oh, my gosh!
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