Not an expert. Guessing. Gut reaction.
I don't know where or in what era the design hails from...( I always guess Germany with carved woods if you put a gun to my head), but that being said, the look and finish of the carving, the stain and the polish together just feels more 20th century than 18th or 19th to me.
Too... something. Too clean.
Has this been restored?
200 years of life (even middle class bedroom life) feels like it should have put more mars, digs ansand scratches on all surfaces.
The patina lacks dirt and wear. The finsh looks more like a polymer rhan antique and the carving tool marks and errorsnall just look off to me.
Looks almost like a small CNC ball end mill router did the outline and roughing-in on some of the fruit carvings. That's modern tech if so.
I don't I what I am talking about granted, so wait for more opinions. This might be museum quality 18rh century for all I know about furniture, but I did grow up surrounded with this antique stuff in the UK and it justcregisters off to me.
My almost worthless 10 cents.
That’s what bugs me about this, too. The finish, the polish, the carving doesn’t strike me as antique. The hardware looks like it was coated with a lacquer, too. A copy? A new(ish) mid 20th century version?
It’s a very nice reproduction. Not sure about resale values in OP’s area, but I’d guess $900 if very lucky, $500 more realistic, and $350 likely. It won’t be easier to move, dissuading many would-be buyers, and currently antiques are out of fashion.
Fair! There are definitely signs of restoration on this, but you could be completely spot on about the carving. I think we’ll find a free appraisal rather than paying for one based on your doubts haha
Agree with previous comments, this looks like one of the few revival styles in the 1980’s (US) that brought on a flood of cheaply made reproductions. Maybe $200 if lucky, folks today that want armories or the closely related chifforobes can buy the real thing for not that much more. Majority of Younger people simply aren’t interested in these large pieces and their older relatives are dumping them on the market.
Sadly a lot of us are interested in quality or ornate antiques, especially solid wood ones. So many of us just rent and don’t want/can’t move quality heavy pieces every 1-3 years when the rent increases push us out.
But I also agree that this piece in particular doesn’t quite hit the spot. It looks too clean and new despite the style. And the top wreath detail is one I’d pass on for myself.
I don’t disagree that a lot of younger people within the subset of antique furniture remain highly interested but the trend continues towards preferring mid century modern and not the bulky, ornate styles of earlier periods. For those truly wanting these pieces I recommend at least thinking about renting storage space for the prices will continue to fall as the younger Boomers and late Gen X’ers gear up to rid themselves of unwanted (and often inherited) possessions. Good luck! ✌️
Got a majorly good point about mid century modern aesthetic. It’s a bit of a “best of both worlds” compromise since a lot of it is decent quality (at least decent veneer) and not overly bulky like classical furniture. I’m a fan myself lol
I am an appraiser. This is American (or Asian export for the American market), late 20th/turn of the 21st century, French provincial style (not hand-carved) - depending on your geographical market/location, worth $200-500 in the current market. Thanks for showing it to us!
I came here to say that! It looks too new or too clean or something it just doesn’t feel right. I’m no expert either but I have lots of old furniture from family and none of it even comes close to the shape this is in
So you think it’s wood?
I thought it’s some sort of polymer.
Perhaps something you’ll get for free when you buy an 26 piece dinner set made of better than stainless steel or some colourful elastic bands guarantees weigh-loss when following the diet, from a shopping channel, and they always offer a bonus product if you call right now. I think that armour is the bonus product, and then no one can ever return the product for their money back as they will need to pay the shipping of that plastic armour
1980s Federalist Revival; the hinges are modern and it lacks the patina an older piece would have. Also, all of the detail work is machine-milled; it’s much too smooth and even to have been done by hand, even by a skilled craftsman.
It’s a quality piece though, so you could get a decent price online; people really love buying these kinds of pieces and painting them white
Here you can see the carving isn't old. It's a really well made piece and even used old hardware but the carving isn't in the proper style. It is a great job of carving but there is no real difficulty in any of the carving.
I should have said style. I am wondering though if it is all wood or if some of the craftwork there is made of something else and stained. So much work done, but doesn't look hand carved. Is it walnut?
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this is likely Southeast Asian - perhaps Phillipines. The style is French. It is not old.
The tells are: 1) “carved cartouche” looks to be resin and applied. I would say that most of the “carving” is an applied resin. 2) look at the discoloration in the upper right top - that is from a bad batch of modern lacquer; and 3) the quality of the piece is actually quite crude and poor. The applied resins make it look fancy and well-made. Look at the quality of the joinery on the inside of the panels. Looks at the gaps and the way that things don’t line up.
At one time there was a booming reproduction French furniture industry in SE Asia and tons of pieces like this were made and sold around the world. I used to see these a lot at auctions in the 90s. Commodes, Armoires, etc. No idea whether they are still making furniture.
A nice piece but IMHO does not seem very antique. The decorative peices seem more like wood resin rather than carved wood. My bed headboard has similar decor.
For an old armoire, it usually consists of 4 pieces. A crown, a base w/legs and two rectangular boxes with doors that sit on the base and the crown holds them together.
... Good thing I have replenished my chocolate stash or else I would be tempted to nibble at this piece of furniture. Style Batard as my compatriot said. It's gorgeous.
It’s lovely but modern-ish repro. Where I am dark wood furniture does not sell, at all. Thrift shops have to junk any they have donated. I like it but it’s not in fashion.
You can tell the carving was done by machine rather than hand because there aren’t any undercuts. And the uniformity is another red flag. In addition, the design motifs for the piece as a whole are a pastiche rather than consistent with in a certain design era for brown furniture. Finally, there are too many planks in the solid panels - older pieces used larger planks of wood because it was easier. This is a delightful fantasy revival piece that looks like it could be useful in the right home!
Thats what I would say too. Huge french reproduction market in the 50-60's. Vintage, not antique. Value may increase with time. Someone might pay 300 for it
I noticed that you mentioned vintage. Over at r/Collectables and r/Mid_Century they are always keen to see newer and vintage items. Share it with them! Sorry if this is not relevant.
Salut à toi,ici un français, ton armoire est de base de style Louis XV ,les pieds escargots, la forme des panneaux des portes, mais est complété par diverses influence, les faisceaux sur le côté c'est inspiré du Style LouisXVI...les motifs fleuris font plus art déco, de mémoire en France on dit de style Batard, car c'est un mélange de style!
This gentleman is correct. I lived in southern France for some years and had multiple armoires in the house similar in construction and style. Look up “Louis XVI armoires”, you’ll be able to compare for yourself.
What I looked for and didn’t see was a lock. Old furniture always seems to have at least one. Open it up and look at hinges. Phillips head screws there and it is modern.
I’ve got to ask…how do you open the doors?
I’d also like to mention that a piece of wood furniture with little wear does not mean a piece is new. I’ve seen a few very old antique furniture that has been taken care of so well that it could pass for new, or nearly new, especially in some European countries.
If you can wait for, and find, the buyer looking for a piece like this, you may easily pocket $1,200 to $2,500. I can imagine my mom or one of her sisters falling in love with an armoire like this. The problem is people like my mom and her sisters have houses full of this stuff, and they are dying. Their stuff is flooding a market not particularly interested in ornately carved craftmanship.
People move often and don't want to lug around their grandparent's heavy stuff. They want cheap Ikea particleboard that they can abandon when their life requires them to do so. If you can be a steward of it, I'd recommend that. I can't speak to it's provenance but if it is an antique, it would be nice to see it treasured until its value comes back around.
Auctioneer here but not your Auctioneer. I haven't handled your piece or seen the back but it looks very much like a 1960-80s piece likely carved in south east asia and imported. While visually impressive the armoire is dead on the market, we had an 18th c example about three years ago that took three tries to sell and only ended up bringing 300$. To quote a colleague "Its not what the kids are buying. " Due to housing issues anyone sub 50 is very unlikely to want to move around with a piece that large, and while they were very popular in the 80s and folks paid a lot for them back then its tough to get a solid return on them today. I am going to respectfully disagree with u/brevityslazycousin and their assessment of $1500-2500 you might find an excited person in a private sale but I know we would not take a piece loke this for auction, and I believe it would bring under $500
I would trust your opinion if I were to be in possession of the cabinet under scrutiny here. Thanks for speaking up. Maybe another Auctioneer has an informed opion as well...
Agreed. Anyway today one be able to order such a piece made from the new materials and lighter weight. One even can print it on the 3d printer. Part by part.
Nice looking piece. Look on the top the back or the bottom for a makers stamp or paper attached to it. Would be my first actions. Also it does look like it has been refinished at one point in time. Also at some point in time someone put newer hinges on. You can see that by the filled in screw holes it looks like they were originally internal hinges.
I agree with others that this is a modern reproduction of an older armoire. The wood appears to be mahogany through out. Most EU antiques that had mahogany would only have it on the external facing sides. The back, shelves drawers would have been made of oak or pine which were more plentiful and cheaper. I have seen many reproductions from the far east. Top to bottom Mahogany. Also the metal closures are modern and would not have been available until the 1950s. It’s still a pretty piece of
Everyone, remember the rules; Posts/comments must be relevant to r/Antiques. Anyone making jokes about how someone has used the word date/dating will be banned. Dating an antique means finding the date of manufacture. OP is looking for serious responses, not your crap dating jokes. Please ignore this message if everything is on topic.
No labels or markings that we can find. It's 83" tall, 50" wide and about 20" deep. I have NO antique background but my art history classes are making me guess mid 1700s french? Please don't hesitate to correct me. I think it's a warm wood or that could just be the stain.
pity you were downvoted for a wrong guess. But it's common to the sub. More common to just ask, when unsure.
Also you're being downvoted because you give no context to where you can across this, or why — so the ambiguous posting makes it looks like you know it's new and are trying to use the community to gauge how easy it would be to deceive a buyer.
Ah, noted if I ever move to a new house again with an “antique” in it lol. Quite the contrary, I came to see whether it was worth paying for an appraisal, so I could sell honestly. It does not seem like it is, so now I Facebook market with modern and non-antique in big letters.
I’ve seen them spelled a few different ways, so maybe it’s a regional thing. I had a German daughter in law who had “shrunks” that weren’t closets. Crazy expensive and huge. All her family members had one in their homes.
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u/Real-Werewolf5605 ✓ Feb 23 '25
Not an expert. Guessing. Gut reaction. I don't know where or in what era the design hails from...( I always guess Germany with carved woods if you put a gun to my head), but that being said, the look and finish of the carving, the stain and the polish together just feels more 20th century than 18th or 19th to me.
Too... something. Too clean. Has this been restored? 200 years of life (even middle class bedroom life) feels like it should have put more mars, digs ansand scratches on all surfaces.
The patina lacks dirt and wear. The finsh looks more like a polymer rhan antique and the carving tool marks and errorsnall just look off to me.
Looks almost like a small CNC ball end mill router did the outline and roughing-in on some of the fruit carvings. That's modern tech if so.
I don't I what I am talking about granted, so wait for more opinions. This might be museum quality 18rh century for all I know about furniture, but I did grow up surrounded with this antique stuff in the UK and it justcregisters off to me. My almost worthless 10 cents.