Drawer fronts for Art Nouveau cabinet

[dzj]

Some friends of ours brought this old Art Nouveau cabinet to my shop.
The two missing drawers need to be made.
I usually don't do work like this, but it's always interesting to have a closer look at the way things were done
a hundred or so years ago.

Could anyone suggest what would period correct drawer fronts look like?
(I've searched the internet, but haven't found anything similar)
I was thinking just a piece of rift sawn oak, or perhaps with some light moulding, like the doors have?

Thanks.

 

[RogerP]

Just something quite simple like this on an Edwardian wardrobe perhaps?

 

[Slinger]

I'm not sure it is Art Nouveau, more Arts & Crafts & researching that area may come up with an answer.
Slinger

 

[dzj]

They do hail from the same historical period and although this piece isn't as elaborate as some, it has the AN trademark floral motif,
arched and carved/ moulded rails, swan-neck embellishments on the cabinet sides...things that A&C doesn't have.
Also there's no visible joinery, no quarter sawn stock and the whole cabinet is made from Oak veneered Spruce. A technique A&C frowned upon.

 

[Paul200]

I'm not sure it is Art Nouveau, more Arts & Crafts & researching that area may come up with an answer.
Slinger

I was thinking the same - but it didn't look right for A&C either. Nice piece. Are there any antique dealers on here?

Thanks for posting dzj, I've spent a very pleasant half hour searching for something similar on the interweb - there is some beautiful furniture out there :mrgreen:

 

[Spindle]

Hi

In the event of not being able to find a match I think I'd take one or two elements from the piece and reproduce them on the drawer fronts.

The door escutcheon, (paced centrally and rotated 90 degrees), and maybe the door surround moulding perhaps.

Regards Mick

 

[kinsella]

Chaps
It definitely looks Art Nouveau which is my influencing style. The drawers would normally have similar extravance to them, see the images which have different approaches. Do a search for Art Nouveau furniture.

 

[Mr_P]

Personally I'd go for rather fancy brass handles but talk to your client they might prefer simple wooden ones.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EXCEPTIONAL-A ... 7675.l2557

 

[dzj]

Thank you all for the input. Much appreciated.
In the coming days I'll make some mock-ups of the drawer fronts.
(I'll post some photos to see what you you think).
Cheers.

 

[davin]

I searched for jugendstil moebel on google images, bought up quite a few hits. Looked a bit Swedish I thought

 

[dzj]

Coming from the Eastern part of Europe, Jugendstil and Viennese Secession was my first choice
when searching. Quite a few hits, as you say. Unfortunately, these images are of very well made, often highly ornamented,
expensive pieces. The cabinet in my shop is not one of them. Stylistically, I believe they belong to the same family, but it is a
lower end, less extravagant piece.
In regards to the drawers I have to make for it, I was looking for something that would blend in and in no
way stand out.
At the moment I'm considering a discrete extrapolation of existing moulding around the drawer front, or even just flat surfaces with the escutcheons
being the only ornamentation.

 

[davin]

You could do what they do in the Uk with any nice old furniture nowadays,slap some white paint on and call it upcycled!
Seriously. When you see this type of furniture up close it is incredibly well made. We don't see much in the UK. I wonder if there is a market for it here? From what I understand the antique market for furniture in the Uk is pretty stagnant at the moment. The painted furniture look just seems to keep going. When will it end and what will replace it? Is this type of furniture easy to come by and is it expensive in your part of the world?

 

[RogerP]

You could do what they do in the Uk with any nice old furniture nowadays,slap some white paint on and call it upcycled!.........

The ongoing craze in the UK seems to be what they call "shabby chick" where old furniture and furnishings having many signs of wear and tear are used or new items are distressed to fake age. Horrible!

 

[dzj]

Is this type of furniture easy to come by and is it expensive in your part of the world?

Like elsewhere, prices of antiques have dropped. Dealers sell 19th century Biedermeier pieces for under 2000 Euros.
Early 20th century furniture is half that. Their markup is probably 50%, so it always pays to skip them if possible.

As for "shabby chick", I try not to be judgmental, but it saddens me sometimes to see what is done to the old stuff.

 

[dzj]

Finally got round to finishing it.
There was more work than I'd hoped. A lot of veneer was damaged, there was a bug
infestation to deal with, 2 new drawers to make, a lot of joints had opened, had to strip the old finish...
The client will shop around for some antique escutcheons and drawer handles and hopefully install them by themselves.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Hopefully, good for another 100 years! Cheers, W2S

 

[AndyT]

Wow, someone else as slow as me!
I reckon those drawers look like they fit in perfectly. Once they have suitable handles, no-one will guess that they aren't original. Nice job.

 

[dzj]

He he, yeah, a pro bono job meant to be finished in a month or so.
Didn't want to botch it, so it took a bit (a bit?) longer than anticipated.