Old box find and restore

[centron-sg1]

Hi Guys,

As usual, I turn to this forum for it's wisdom and support...

I recently during a council clean up stumbled across a set of very dirty pieces of wood, covered in cement and dirt,

Much to my surprise I noticed hand crafted mitred dovetail joints on the pieces and had originally been assembled with hide glue... Panels are hand crafted and chamfered/planed to fit in the dados.

I gave it all a good clean, and discovered that I had all the pieces including the delicate brass handles, so I decided to re-assemble it and gave it a coat of linseed...

I however have no idea what what this type of sliding lid box may have been used for, how old it might be or what type of wood it may be. I am rather happy that I saved this from ending up in landfill...

Any input is appreciated.










Regards

Pete

[Christos]

I can not help you on what it is.

I do want to say that you have done a really nice job on restoring them considering the state that they were in as per the description.

[centron-sg1]

I can not help you on what it is.

I do want to say that you have done a really nice job on restoring them considering the state that they were in as per the description.

Thanks Mate, Appreciated... I wish I had taken "before" pics....

[orraloon]

You have done a great job there. I cant say what the box was for but the handle position suggests it stays on its side. To hold shoes perhaps. Anyhow one mans trash has turned to another mans treasure.
Regards
John

[centron-sg1]

You have done a great job there. I cant say what the box was for but the handle position suggests it stays on its side. To hold shoes perhaps. Anyhow one mans trash has turned to another mans treasure.
Regards
John

Thanks... yeah. there is a definity "bottom" I had originally thought it might be a drinks cabinet but it's to low for the average bottle of scotch/wine...

Too narrow for shoes unless you have very small feet... I measure approximately 65cm long, 20cm deep and 28cm high.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

You have certainly cleaned it up well and it looks good. You may find that the oil finish attracts a lot of dust though and a better finish would be shellac. It is easier to apply than many think, and ready-made shellac solutions are around - e.g. UBeaut products. I wouldn't recommend the orange flake shellac, but that is a personal taste issue.

My guess, given its dimensions, is that it may have had an ecclesiastical use - holding a supply of prayer books or hymn books. Churches often had many beautiful wooden cabinets made by professional makers and also by talented parishioners.

It's a lovely thing to have rescued in any case.

David

Edit for typo

[centron-sg1]

So.. a bit of an update... I posted some fliers in the street where I found this box with pictures and an offer to return it to its rightful owner and today, I received a phone call from the owner.

It was bought in Beijing in 1975 by a lady who was a librarian on a cultural diplomatic mission to China. It was sold as a "book box" (good call Xanthorrhoeas) from an antiques dealer in downtown Beijing the week Mao died. Based on the style of joinery I would guess it may not have been Chinese to start but I could be wrong. (Possibly British campaign furniture?). It was brought back to Australia and promptly fell to bits and has been stored in bits in a garage for 40 years.... I still can't gauge the age of this box, but given that it was sold as an antique almost 40 years ago, I would guess quite old... If anyone wants to have a go, I can take more detailed pics?

An example of the "blind secret mitre dovetail" joint also known as a "French dovetail" joint below,

[fletty]

What a great find and congratulations on such a sympathetic restoration!
I would LOVE to know how it ended up in Beijing but I have seen one before and it is an off-shoot or successor from British or American Campaign furniture. Until the advent, and legal acceptance, of electronic files, you also could still see these boxes being used in Australian regional Court Circuits where prosecutors and lawyers used them to carry legal files into the Court. They would frequently be sent ahead on the train sealed with only a ribbon and wax seal to be picked up before the Court Session.
Having a penchant for Chinese furniture (and a collection that would suggest obsession rather than penchant!), I can assure you that it is Western, would either have gone to China early last Century as campaign furniture for one of the many Western Military concessions or later as a book box for an Embassy or Consulate.
American boxes would traditionally have been walnut or red oak and British would have been mahogany.
Regardless of any of the above, it is now in Australia, restored and cared for....it doesn't get better than that!
fletty

[auscab]

Freinds

Nice box . Nice find and restoration .

But . , Fletty, I respectfully don't agree .

This box has not the slightest resemblance to western furniture that I can see at all .
And nothing what so ever to do with any English or American campaign furniture.

And looks Oriental , with a guess , a bit of 1920s quality oriental .

It looks like the construction probably does not have a nail in it , is there any in the back ? or is it sitting in a slot to hold it in ?

Rob

[centron-sg1]

The back panel is in a slot/dado. Much like one would do for the base of a drawer. And yep, not a single nail any where....

[fletty]

Hi Rob, my suggestion based on a couple of things, the first is hidden mitred dovetails which l have never seen on any Chinese furniture and the lack of through tenons which is on every piece of chinese furniture l've ever seen or restored?
When Chinese carpenters started making furniture for Western markets in the mid 18th century, they copied western designs but not techniques? l have a Chinese made dressing table, probably mid 19th century, that is French design but made with Chinese techniques but especially through tenons.
The design of this box is very similar to 'barrister' boxes which are fitted with a hinged and retractable glass framed front and stacked to make a bookshelf and very similar in construction to campaign furniture but particularly American Civil War period. My prediction is still Western book box .....but there's something beautiful in that we will never know for sure.
fletty

PS, it would be interesting to know the 'height' of the box because 'legal papers' were normally quarto not foolscap ( back in the days when A4 was just a gleam in Napoleans eyes!)

[Evanism]

I'd wager its Japanese.

Brought across in the japanese/Chinese war of 1937 to 45 either by diplomats, or 98% likely, military. Invade, find a desk, plonk the Big Box of Invasion Plans down, slide up the face and you're set to go.

The hidden dovetail mitres are absolutely 100% Japanese origin. Here is a video showing exactly how they were made using the same tools and techniques as this cabinet: http://youtu.be/qRPS9jZuFeA at the 4:40 mark.

[auscab]

Searching the net yesterday after posting here I saw a lot , just about every image was different to the next!
My knowledge is based on working in an Antique restoration business which imported from the UK .
You get to see a lot of English and a bit of US , with a fair bit of the more rare campaign furniture.
There is the sea chest's and desks with legs that unscrew for transport, some interesting whole sets of Victorian chairs where the backs and front legs all came apart which had special brass fittings for the purpose .


The furniture from the East or Our NNW I run my hands over and almost bought some years ago , I never did though. I walked through friends restoration shops full of it and visited an importers shop a few times. And saw plenty at Melbourne auction rooms. I see Chinese people come in now searching for Chinese antiques !
The stuff I saw imported from the early ninety's maybe late eighty's was from my knowledge the first time container loads were exported, there was some really early looking complex cabinets and seating. easy two hundred years old and more.


The closest I came up with in a search was a Japanese style US Builder. That reminded me of when I was looking for books on French provincial furniture about ten years ago. When people write books on furniture from an area its hard to find the average plain examples sometimes , I was coming across big books with the most elaborate impressive furniture but I wanted the ordinary , I got a few in the end. It was the same searching for this box yesterday.

The Japanese style box I saw,

https://samedge.wordpress.com/2012/0...erry-braswell/

Rob