Here’s a column from the Ottawa Citizen, written by antiques expert John Sewell. The column is another one that gives appraisal of antiques to readers who I assume send in their inquiries with photographs.
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find the photos that go with this column. That’s odd. Unless I’m overlooking a link, it’s left to our imagination to supply an image of the pieces.
One of them is intriguing enough for me to have linked to the article despite its visual deficiency. Someone named Ron describes a “piece of furniture” that his mother brought from Ireland in the late 19th century. Mother? Late 19th century? Wow.
We learn from Ron that it came from a castle in Ireland, is solid mahogany, has its original finish and original mirror, and measures 236 centimeters high by 90 centimeters wide. Evidently, however, Ron doesn’t have all his information straight. Because Mr. Sewell replies that it’s actually North American, not Irish, and made of walnut rather than mahogany. No, at this point we still don’t know what type of furniture it is, except that it does have a mirror. I assume Ron wasn’t mistaken about that.
Are you guessing dresser? In fact, it’s an étagère, the French name, Mr. Sewell explains, for an open-shelved piece of furniture used to display ornamental pieces, common in hallways of grand Victorian homes. The style is Renaissance Revival, dating to around 1865 to 1870, worth at least $1,500 in today’s soft, buyer’s market.
The mysteries of antique Victorian furniture. What about that Irish castle? Did this North American étagère make two trips across the Atlantic in the late 1800s?
Click here to see the article, but not the étagère. If you do find a photo, please let me know.