What wood are carved cupboards usually made from?

Oak dominates. It is named in 374 of 725 titles, a little over half the category, and the phrase oak cupboard alone accounts for 57. Walnut follows at 110 titles and mahogany at 66. Pine, elm, teak and lacquered hardwood appear now and then, and burr walnut turns up in 32 titles, concentrated in cocktail and bedside cabinets.

How old is a typical carved cupboard?

Dealer date fields run from 1670 to 1960, with 300 of the 725 listings carrying a clean year. That is a span of nearly three centuries inside one heading. Much of the labelling is broad. 19th Century is the largest group at 117 titles, with 18th Century at 64 and 17th Century at 47, plus style labels like Victorian and Edwardian. Decade labels cluster in the early 20th century, and the 1920s group is the second commonest period here at 82 listings.

Why are court cupboards mentioned so often?

It is the most frequently named form in the category, with 72 listings, and oak court appears in 51 of them. Nothing else is named as consistently. Court and press cupboards together make up roughly a fifth of listings, and they sit at the upper end of the range.

Are carved cupboards sold in pairs?

Sixty-five titles advertise a pair. Most of those are bedside cupboards, pedestal cabinets or lamp chests rather than large cupboards. Paired bedsides sit above single equivalents throughout the sample.

Which carved cupboards are the most expensive?

The top of the range is held by 17th-century Continental and Asian cabinets, including Indo-Portuguese work and Japanese lacquer on a French giltwood stand, rather than by English oak. Early joined oak with a named regional form or an inscribed date in the frieze also runs high. The bottom of the range is populated by small mahogany and pine bedsides.

Do unusual forms appear in this category?

They do, generally once each. The samples include a lit clos Breton bed-cupboard, a Spanish bargueño, a Dutch Gelderse kussenkast and an Indian damchiya dowry chest. Also recorded: a Ceylon veranda gin cabinet, a vestry cupboard of 22 carved panels and a watchmaker's cabinet. Around 76 carved cupboards are listed a year on Sellingantiques, and 180 different dealers have handled them, so no single stockholder shapes the mix.

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Antique Carved Cupboards

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Enclosed wooden storage furniture sold on its carved decoration, from small hanging wall cupboards to full-height court cupboards, armoires and linen presses built to hold food, livery, linen or clothes.