What does bow fronted mean?

It means the front of the chest curves outward in a convex sweep, rather than running flat. Dealers write it as bow front, bow fronted, bowfront or just bow, and all four describe the same thing. It's the most-recorded feature after period. Across every spelling it runs to well over nine hundred titles, which makes it the commonest shape word in the category.

How old are these chests?

The dated field runs from 1700 to 1960, a 260-year span for what is recognisably one object. Only 1,744 of the 6,806 listings pin themselves to a clean year; the rest sit in era buckets. Georgian is the biggest single label, then "19th Century", Victorian, "18th Century", Regency and "1800s". Edwardian and 1920s pieces make up a genuine twentieth-century tail. The labels overlap. Georgian, 18th Century, George III and 1800 get used for the same sort of stock, and a title's period word sometimes disagrees with the dated field, so treat it as an indication.

Is a tallboy the same as a chest on chest?

Yes. Two carcases stacked to form one tall chest, and dealers use the two words interchangeably in titles. Tallboy appears in 166 titles. Two-part forms are a small share of the category, and they concentrate at the upper end, dominating the top of the sample.

What is a Wellington chest?

A tall narrow chest with a hinged pilaster down one side that locks all the drawers at once when swung shut. Wellington appears in 225 titles. Double versions, twelve drawers in two banks, turn up only a handful of times and sit near the top of the range.

Are French mahogany chests common?

Continental work is the rarest origin in this category. Among 6,806 listings, 163 titles say French, and commode appears in 212. Several of those are marble-topped. Individual Russian, Dutch bombé, Swedish Empire, Biedermeier, Directoire and Channel Islands pieces each turn up once in the sample, alongside semainiers of seven drawers.

Do unusual chests of drawers appear?

Regularly. The sample includes a Victorian commode disguised as a chest of drawers, a sheet-music filing cabinet, a haberdashery shop cabinet and a five-drawer pharmacy chest. Also a demi-lune chest of twelve drawers, one with a raised mirrored dressing compartment, and one fitted with a secret drawer. Around 753 mahogany chests are listed on Sellingantiques in a year across 333 dealers, so the oddities surface often enough.