Welsh Oak and Inlaid Wardrobe

A superb example of a Welsh oak, clothes-hanging press cupboard or wardrobe, in two sections, distinguished by the lavish use of chequer inlay and fruitwood crossbanding to the fielded panels and drawers.
The two doors, perhaps most strikingly, each have an arched fielded panel decorated with a full-height inlaid tendril design with fan-like terminals emanating from a chequered “brick” above a pair of small rectangular fielded panels.
The unusually broad waist moulding sits above a row of rectangular panels and two tiers of oak-lined drawers which retain most of their original brassware. Typically, the sides and back of the cupboard are also panelled. The colour is rich and varied with a good patina.

Mid Wales, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire or Radnorshire, circa 1750-80.

Literature: For a similar press cupboard, see “ Welsh Furniture, 1250-1950, A Cultural History of Craftsmanship and Design” by Richard Bebb, published by Saer Books, Volume 2, page 61, figs 728 and 729.

Dimensions:

142 cms wide, 56 cms deep, 190.5 cms high.