Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

veneer in arts and crafts piece

0 views
Skip to first unread message

stilus

unread,
Sep 4, 2005, 11:44:50 AM9/4/05
to
hello, i'm looking at an antique arts and crafts sideboard and noticed
that there is a layer of veneer on all the surfaces. I thought most
arts and crafts furniture was solid wood and did not use veneers? its
dated back to ~1910 or so, dealer is asking 1200 for it. any thoughts
would be appreciated, thanks!

Andy Dingley

unread,
Sep 4, 2005, 8:44:30 PM9/4/05
to
On 4 Sep 2005 08:44:50 -0700, "stilus" <oliver...@gmail.com> wrote:

>hello, i'm looking at an antique arts and crafts sideboard and noticed
>that there is a layer of veneer on all the surfaces. I thought most
>arts and crafts furniture was solid wood and did not use veneers?

Indeed. There's a reasonable argument that if it's veneered, then it
might be of the period but it's no longer strictly true to the "arts and
crafts" ethos.

However there _are_ some uses of veneer within the A&C movement and one
of the best known was by Gustav Stickley himself. The Stickleys were
obsessed with the ray-flake figure of quartersawn oak. So when they had
highly visible square legs that were visible from two adjacent sides
(chiefly chair front legs) Gustav veneered the flat-sawn faces to put
the ray figure onto all four. His brothers instead made the leg from
four glued-up pieces, giving the same result.

> its dated back to ~1910 or so, dealer is asking 1200 for it.

So what is it? Who's the maker? 1200 is a fairly hefty pricetag, so it
should be something notable for that money and from one of the better
known makers. I certainly wouldn't be expecting veneer. What is the
veneer, and what's the carcase timber beneath it? My valuation would
vary a lot between oak over oak, just to improve the figure, and oak
over pine or plywood.

Got any pictures you can post to the web ?

0 new messages