Rare West Australian Colonial jarrah chiffonier, c.1880's, by…
click the photo to enlarge
Rare West Australian Colonial jarrah chiffonier, c.1880's, by Edwin F. Duffield, working Fremantle, 1869 - 1891, the chiffonier is constructed of two drawers over a two door lower cupboard, with figurative dark grain, panelled doors, good overall colour and rich warm, patina, the back board is decorated with a half-round shaped, continuous moulding, with a fixed single shelf, supported by two finely turned spindle columns, the front of the cabinet is decorated with two finely, turned acorn style corbels, which are a rare and unique feature. Height 143 cm. Width 111.5 cm. Depth 52 cm

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Back Boards - As the name implies, the boards that back a piece of cabinet furniture such as a chest of drawers. The backing timber is usually of cheaper material like pine (often called 'deal' by the British trade), though in early Australian colonial days, red cedar was also used to back a piece. As cedar became scarcer during the later 19th century, craftsmen turned to kauri pine.

    On early furniture, made before the first half of the 19th century, the backboards were often chamfered at the edges and the wide boards slotted into grooves in a supporting central frame. In later furniture, the backboards were generally nailed or screwed into rebates cut directly into the carcase and the boards became much thinner and narrower.

    From about the first world war plywood was frequently used for cheaper pieces.

    Backboards are one important way of judging the age of a piece of furniture.
  • Patination / Patina - In broad terms, patination refers to the exterior surface appearance of the timber, the effect of fading caused by exposure to sunlight and air over the course of a century or more, changing the piece to a soft, mellow colour.

    As patina is very difficult to replicate, it is one of the most important guides to determining the age of furniture.

    Patina is also the term applied to the bloom or film found on old bronzes due to oxidisation.
  • Corbel - An architectural term for a support for a projecting bracket, ostensibly supporting a beam or horizontal feature, but used in bookcases, sideboards and chests as a decorative element. Corbels are often carved with acanthus or other scrolling decoration.
  • Turning - Any part of a piece of furniture that has been turned and shaped with chisels on a lathe. Turned sections include legs, columns, feet, finials, pedestals, stretchers, spindles etc. There have been many varieties and fashions over the centuries: baluster, melon, barley-sugar, bobbin, cotton-reel, rope-twist, and so on. Split turning implies a turned section that has been cut in half lengthwise and applied to a cabinet front as a false decorative support.
  • Jarrah - A eucalypt, known by its aboriginal name jarrah, it grows only in the south-west of Western Australia. The timber is a dark red-brown in colour with similar grain and colouring to mahogany and was used extensively in house construction as well as for making furniture.
  • Column - An architectural feature sometimes used for decorative effect and sometimes as part of the supporting construction. Columns should generally taper slightly towards the top. They may be plain or decorated with carving, fluting or reeding. Columns may be fully rounded or, more commonly, half-rounded and attached with glue, screws or pins to the outer stiles of doors, or the facing uprights on cabinets and bureaux.

This item has been included into following indexes:

Visually similar items

An Australian cedar chiffonier, New South Wales origin, circa 1850 full turned columns, some pine secondary timbers 139 cm high, 100 cm wide, 54 cm deep

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

Late Victorian mahogany chiffonier with 1 drawer and 2 doors, 98 cm wide, 38 cm deep, 124 cm high

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

An Australian cedar chiffonier with full turned columns, circa 1860, 153 cm high, 107 cm wide, 52 cm deep

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

An unusual Australian two door cabinet interior fitted with drawers, 19th century, 67 cm high, 65 cm wide, 38 cm deep

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.