Baroque Bureau Brisé, ca. 1690
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APPRAISER:
You've brought this incredibly early and heavy chest. Where did you find this?
GUEST:
Uh, Plattsmouth, Nebraska, on our way to a wedding in Omaha. And my husband kept stopping, and I just wanted to get to our destination. We drove into this little town based on a sign he saw, and it was formerly a shoe store, formerly a candy store, now an antique store and novelties. He bought bubble gum cigars, and I bought this chest. (laughing)
APPRAISER:
Well, you always need bubble gum cigars.
GUEST:
Absolutely. And I have enough chests already.
APPRAISER:
Right, right, right. So what year was that?
GUEST:
Uh, eight years ago.
APPRAISER:
Eight years ago. So a relatively new purchase.
GUEST:
New to me, yes.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm going to describe it with three Bs. It is a Baroque bureau brisè. And it is probably from Southern Germany, Northern Italy, in the 17th century.
GUEST:
(gasps)
APPRAISER:
So it's, it's very early. It's almost 350 years old.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
Yeah, it's...
GUEST:
Well, no wonder it spoke to me! (both laughing)
APPRAISER:
Yeah; so the thing that, that is really stunning for me about it is that it retains many of its original brasses. If you look at the frieze along the top...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...you'll see this wave motion, carved waves.
GUEST:
Yes, yes.
APPRAISER:
And then, you look down the chest itself, and the brasses have wonderful mermaids on them.
GUEST:
That's why I bought it. We thought perhaps it was firewood with really good brasses.
APPRAISER:
Well, the brasses are really good.
GUEST:
Wow!
APPRIASER: And it's one of my favorite parts about it. But the fact that this has been together for this long is extraordinary.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
Yeah. So they call it a bureau brisè, and brisè is a French word for "break."
GUEST:
Yes, right.
APPRAISER:
So let's open it up and see what we've got, which is, essentially, a little desk inside.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Walnut. It's got some veneers on the front of it, but all hand-carved.
GUEST:
Nice.
APPRAISER:
And it's a real antidote for our throwaway society. So any idea of its value?
GUEST:
I'm hoping it's worth $800, which is what I paid for it.
APPRAISER:
Well, well, yes, yes. It's certainly worth more than that. I would say, if I saw it in a shop, possibly not in, in Nebraska, but maybe New York City, we probably would expect to pay around $3,000 for a piece like this.
GUEST:
Wonderful! Well, I'm just delighted to know its age, because it stumped me.
APPRAISER:
It's really built to last.
Appraisal Details
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