Antique Walnut Commode with Ebonized Columns | French Empire

• Structurally checked
• Adjusted and reinforced where necessary
• Treated against woodworm and borer-free
• Hand sanded
• Furniture ready for use

An antique chest of drawers is not judged by its exterior. It is judged by opening a drawer and seeing how it is made.

This antique walnut chest of drawers was made in France between 1815 and 1830, in a provincial workshop during the Restoration period, when the Empire style was made from walnut instead of mahogany. Frieze drawer with projection over two freestanding columns, three drawers below them, and block feet.

The top and sides are solid walnut; the fronts are veneered in flame walnut, book-matched from the central joint. The columns have ebonized capitals and bases, the black contrast that defines furniture of that decade. The drawers are assembled with hand-cut dovetails, and their sides and bottoms are made of oak, the internal wood of French cabinetmaking.

The brass handles, with laurel rosette and ring, are still fixed with open tenons riveted from the inside, as was done before screws. On the back, in pencil, an inventory number from another century that we have not erased.

The walnut was stripped in our workshop and left in its light tone. Its original finish was darker, and we prefer to mention that.

130 cm wide, 62 cm deep, and 98 cm high. It is a bedroom chest of drawers with wardrobe capacity: four wide and deep drawers. With that height, it can serve as a console in a hallway or a low sideboard in a living room, with a painting or a mirror above it.

FOUR DEFINING DETAILS

→ The dovetails. Hand-cut, fine and uneven, visible on the side of each drawer. This construction dates the piece and is the first to be lost in a copy.

→ The handle tenons. Turn any handle over and you will see an open brass tenon riveted against the wood. This is how they were fastened before 1850. Reproductions use screws.

→ The ebonized columns. Smooth walnut shaft, black capital and base. The only color on the piece, and it is placed where it belongs: highlighting the architecture of the front.

→ The frieze drawer. It never had a lock: it was for daily use. Its keyhole was placed for symmetry with the three lower ones, which do lock. It is a characteristic of a provincial workshop and has been respected as is.

RESTORED IN OUR WORKSHOP IN NAVALCARNERO, MADRID

The structure was checked: the plumb of the block feet, the seating of the columns on their bases, and the fastening of the back panels. The four drawers were adjusted on their wooden runners and the fastening of the handles was checked. The three original locks of the lower drawers were inspected and new keys were cut in the workshop: the original ones were not preserved. The wood was treated against wood-boring insects.

The walnut was stripped and hand-sanded until raw, with an open pore and a matte finish that does not hide the grain. The four drawers run smoothly, the three keys turn, and the whole piece stands plumb.

Style: Empire / French Restoration
Material: Solid walnut and flamed walnut veneer; drawer interiors and back in oak
Technique: Hand-cut dovetails; turned freestanding columns with ebonized capital and base; frame and panel back
Finish: Workshop-stripped walnut, raw, open-pore, matte
Hardware: Brass ring pulls on laurel rosettes, fastened with riveted pins; bronze keyholes. Three original locks with new keys; the keyhole on the top drawer is decorative
Layout: Projecting frieze drawer and three drawers below the columns; the three lower ones with lock and key
Dimensions: 130 cm (Width) × 62 cm (Depth) × 98 cm (Height)
Condition: Very good condition; sturdy structure, tight drawers
Period: First third of the 19th century (ca. 1815-1830)

130 cm (Width) × 62 cm (Depth) × 98 cm (Height)

Free shipping to mainland Spain. Includes indoor delivery with packaging removal.