Are most walnut wardrobes Victorian?

No. The weight sits in the twentieth century: the 1920s account for more listings than the Victorian and 19th-century brackets together, with the 1930s close behind. Victorian and Edwardian pieces are still a solid third of the category, largely doubles and triples with mirrored doors and breakfront centres.

What does compactum mean on a listing?

A compactum is fitted out inside: hanging space to one side, with drawers and sliding trays worked into the same carcase. Some carry a mirror. Around seventy titles use the word, with more described as fitted or combination. Gents' and gentleman's fitted interiors recur through them, and the share is rising in live stock.

How big do these wardrobes get?

Sizes run from a narrow single hanging cupboard up to four-door breakfronts. Triples are the largest common size, and the word large appears in dozens of titles. Four-door configurations and matched ladies' and gents' pairs exist but are scarce across the whole archive. The tallest height anyone put in a title is 7ft 6in, on a French armoire of about 1880.

Why is burr walnut mentioned so often?

Burr is veneer cut from a knotty growth on the trunk, and its swirled figure was the look the interwar bedroom trade wanted. It's named in just under half of all titles on Sellingantiques. There's also a distinct 19th-century burr sub-population, where burr and Victorian appear together in the same title.

Which are the French ones?

Roughly one in ten listings is an armoire, generally French and carved, often in solid walnut rather than veneer. Sampled titles name Louis XV, Louis Philippe, Breton and Burgundy examples. German, Grunderzeit and Italian pieces turn up as single appearances.

How accurate are the dates in the titles?

Treat them as decade markers. A large block of listings reads simply Victorian, Edwardian or 19th century, and c1920, c1890 and c1900 do a lot of work. About two thirds of listings carry a clean year, so you can usually place a piece to a decade from the listing alone. The dated field runs 1780 to 1930 and stops there.

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Antique Walnut Wardrobes

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A freestanding bedroom cupboard for hanging and folded clothes, veneered or made in walnut, running from a narrow single hanging cupboard to a four-door breakfront of room-dominating scale.