Wellington Walnut Chest, 1860s

Description

Small high chest - so-called Wellington Chest

England
Walnut
around 1860

Dimensions: H x W x D: 146 x 70 … more Small high chest - so-called Wellington Chest

England
Walnut
around 1860

Dimensions: H x W x D: 146 x 70 x 47 cm

:
Antique high chest, chiffonier or Wellington Chest.

Exceptional and rarely found piece of furniture with seven drawers. The chest of drawers is dominated by an exciting walnut veneer pattern and the solid and robust handles.

The keyholes lined with brass stand out on the semi-circular pilaster strips. The one on the left is a dummy keyhole, which has no function and was only added for the sake of symmetry. The right-hand pilaster strip, on the other hand, can be folded down, is lockable and acts as a central locking system that secures the entire row of drawers.

Another special feature of this piece of furniture is that the fronts of the three upper drawers can all be folded down. There are two reasons for this: Firstly, the piece of furniture can be used as a kind of standing desk, with the open fronts as a writing or work surface; secondly, larger and bulkier objects can be pushed in with the fronts folded down.

Worth knowing:
The piece of furniture on offer here was originally built for the English military and was named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington. The troops he commanded defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

The Wellington chest of drawers is considerably smaller than we are familiar with from German Biedermeier high chests of drawers or French chiffoniers. It was designed for travelling and therefore had to be easy to transport. Thanks to its vertical structure with several drawers on top of each other, the Wellington chest of drawers was designed to take up as little space as possible in the usually quite small tents in which it was placed. with its hinged fronts, it could be used as writing furniture and was also used to store the officer's personal belongings, such as uniforms, documents and valuables.
The central locking system ensured that the drawers did not open during carriage transport, and the lockable design also offered the owner a certain degree of security, as the tents were often accessible to numerous people.

Condition:
Restored while preserving the patina. The drawers run well, the lock works. Authentic and suitable for everyday use.

Similar types of furniture can be found in the literature:
Gloria Ehret and John Andrews - Englische Möbel p. 51 less