English Men's Dressing Table, ca. 1835
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GUEST:
I purchased it in 2012 at an online auction, but it was located in St. Louis. The home where the auction was located was beautiful. It was a Victorian old home in... North of the Central West End in St. Louis.
APPRAISER:
So, first things first, so, where is it from? It's English.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And it's made of mahogany. The border is a burl maple or a burl yew wood. Made in England around about 1830 to 1840.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And there's a couple of interesting components to it. So we have this leather in-set top, so it's like a writing table. But as I'm sure you know, we can lift this up here, and you've got this interior. It's got these notches here all around, and so it would have had a divided interior, or compartmentalized. And that would have been for dressing accessories. And then here, it's also missing something. So what do we think that was?
GUEST:
A mirror.
APPRAISER:
A mirror, exactly.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So this is a gentleman's dressing table. The question would be, how do we know it's English? Well, the first thing, we look and we have the lock, which is stamped "J. Bramah," which is for Joseph Bramah, and he was an English lock maker that started in the 18th century and continued to do business through the 19th century. And it's stamped, "J. Bramah patent," and then with the royal crown on there, as well. Moving down, you've got these wonderful masks. These are Egyptian-style. At the end of the 18th century, the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon did an expedition to Egypt, brought back all of these artifacts, and thus spawned this whole idea of Egyptomania. People became obsessed with everything Egyptian. And it moves down to this lovely tapered leg with this inlay. You see, on each side, there's actually little marks.
GUEST:
Oh, yes.
APPRAISER:
And there used to be rails on three sides. There wasn't a rail on the front side because you had to be able to pull a chair under it. But it's
really a lovely piece. So you purchased it in 2012.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
How much did you pay for it?
GUEST:
I paid $650, which was a lot. I mean, I was bidding online, and more than I wanted to spend, but I loved it, and...
APPRAISER:
Okay, it could use a little restoration. If you replace the mirror plate, maybe added the divided slots back in. I think, if you were to sell this in a well-publicized auction, I think an estimate of around about $1,000 to $1,500 would be appropriate.
GUEST:
Okay. Very good.
APPRAISER:
All right?
GUEST:
That's wonderful. Thank you.
Appraisal Details
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