Burr is veneer cut from a growth on the trunk, and the grain in it swirls rather than runs straight. It was prized for exactly that. It dominates this category. Burr is named in 703 of the titles, and it crosses the periods, from Victorian burr side cabinets through to Art Deco burr cocktail cabinets.

How old are most walnut cabinets on the market?

Younger than you might expect. The dated field spans 1700 to 1940, but the mass sits late, with 434 pieces given to the 1930s and 369 to the 1920s. Victorian accounts for 319, with a further 217 given only as 19th Century and 67 as Edwardian. A good deal of the dating is a period label rather than a year. Earlier walnut appears in small numbers: a table cabinet inscribed 1613, a German marquetry table cabinet, an Italian Baroque cupboard, a William and Mary cabinet on chest.

Why are bedside cabinets so often sold in pairs?

They were made that way, one for each side of the bed. Pairs are a category in their own right here, with 444 titles using the word, most of them bedside cabinets, chests or nightstands. A matched pair sits above a single cabinet in the range, and pairs of pier cabinets recur in the upper half too. Near pair and matched pair both appear in the listings.

What is a pier cabinet?

A tall narrow cabinet built for the pier, the stretch of wall between two windows. The proportions follow the space rather than the contents. It is a Victorian form above all, and 247 titles use the term. Glazed doors, inlay and gilded metal mounts are all common on them.

Which walnut cabinets sit at the top of the range?

Marquetry and ormolu-mounted display cabinets and credenzas take the highest prices in the sampled listings, along with Dutch and Flemish marquetry display cabinets, some raised on a chest. At the other end sit the small utility forms: music cabinets, filing cabinets and single bedside cupboards.

Are there unusual walnut cabinets besides the standard forms?

Yes, and some appear only once or twice across the whole archive. A butterfly collectors cabinet with eighteen wide drawers, a sixty-drawer collectors cabinet, an oological egg cabinet. Others include dentists' cabinets, a billiard scoreboard cabinet, a coal purdonium, a sewing machine console and a diamond-shaped shop counter in brass and walnut. Music cabinets are the steadiest of the small forms, 95 titles, including sheet-music and gramophone-record types, several with fitted writing compartments.

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Antique Walnut Cabinets

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Walnut case furniture, mostly veneered, running from small table and music cabinets to Victorian pier and display cabinets and the fitted burr-walnut cocktail cabinets of the 1920s and 30s.