My wife and I bought a vanity this weekend and we're curious about the origins of the piece. It was sold as a Biedermeier-style piece, but it's definitely 20th century (NC lacquer finish, die-cast hardware, plywood) and not a one-off item. I'm interested to know what you think the veneers are and any speculations you might have about the origins. Based on no makers mark, the hand-cut dovetails, and the exotic veneers on non-show surfaces, I'm guessing that it was made somewhere in the developing world for export to the US, but I really have no clue.
Pedestal:
Top:
Here are some curious details:
The non-show surfaces (e.g. the top of the pedestal) are veneered with a nice wood, I'm pretty sure ribbon mahogany.
Scribe lines on the dovetails indicate that they were cut by hand. But like I said, the existence of other examples suggests that it is a mass-produced piece.
The only non-veneered surface on the piece is the bottom of the pedestal. You can see here that the veneers were applied to plywood bent around a solid wood frame (I took a block plane to the wood to try to get a hint of what it was, but it's "generic white")
Here you can get an idea of the base frame construction. This is the underside of the pedestal. Glued up sticks splined in places.
Pedestal:
Top:
Here are some curious details:
The non-show surfaces (e.g. the top of the pedestal) are veneered with a nice wood, I'm pretty sure ribbon mahogany.
Scribe lines on the dovetails indicate that they were cut by hand. But like I said, the existence of other examples suggests that it is a mass-produced piece.
The only non-veneered surface on the piece is the bottom of the pedestal. You can see here that the veneers were applied to plywood bent around a solid wood frame (I took a block plane to the wood to try to get a hint of what it was, but it's "generic white")
Here you can get an idea of the base frame construction. This is the underside of the pedestal. Glued up sticks splined in places.