Walnut China Press
Dimensions: Height – 88″
Width – 42″ (47″ at cornice)
Depth – 17″ (20″ at cornice)
Maker: Unknown
Location: Southside Virginia or Central North Carolina
Date: Ca.1795
Commentary: This press is closely related to a group of corner and straight-back cupboards with origins in the counties along the Virginia and North Carolina border. (MESDA research files S-13039, S-11054 and Bivins pages 256-266) The influence of Norfolk artisans, many of whom were conversant with English styles and craftsmanship, extended well into the interior of Virginia and North Carolina’s Roanoke River basin. The form is also found in the eastern Tennessee area but was supplanted there by the popular “Jackson Cupboard” by the second third of the 19th century.
The flush hung cabinet doors, separately constructed cornice and frieze, door and window moldings, book matched doors, and general quality of construction detail, all reflect the influence of the neoclassical style on a highly skilled artisan.
Condition and Materials: The old, mellow surface was cleaned but not disturbed during general conservation by the F.C. Vogt Company in Richmond. Several coats of shellac were padded on, rubbed out and a paste wax applied. The feet are old replacements and the shelves were fitted to the original supports. Evidence remains of several generations of hardware reflecting changing tastes of generations of owners and, while not original, the present brass pulls and escutcheons are period appropriate reproductions. The frame and panel construction of the cupboard’s back, more often encountered in early tidewater case pieces, suggests that the cabinetmaker may have been trained in a coastal shop. The secondary woods are poplar.
Price: Sold
Additional Photos
Removable Cornice
