Object Description
A Very Good Quality Mid 19th Century Burr Walnut Wellington Chest Having Six Superbly Figured Drawers Retaining Elegant Original Turned Wooden Knobs Flanked By Pilasters Headed With Carved Corbels Raised On Original Plinth Base.
The first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, commissioned the first chest of this type, i.e. a tall bank of drawers secured by hinged locking pilasters to take with him and carry around various battlefields and that is where the name wellington chest comes from. It is now used to refer to almost any tall, narrow antique chest of drawers.
From around 1820 onwards they were manufactured in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, plus they varied a great deal in terms of both their quality and the wood which they are constructed from.
This particular piece is constructed from exceptionally well figured burr walnut veneers and they are really rather beautiful to look at.
As always one of the big advantages with a chest of this form is that it offers a different and more unusual perspective to the room in terms of its height and proportion. Also of course the drawers are incredibly functional when used for items that you don’t wish to be buried at the bottom of the much larger drawers which can be found in conventional antiques chests of drawers.
Circa 1860.
Height 50in.
Width 22.5in.
Depth 17.5in.