Antique Tall Pitch Pine School Housekeeper Cupboard, c1870

2261

Description

A handsome and wonderfully useful Victorian pitch pine school or housekeeper’s cupboard, dating to circa 1870 and displaying the exceptionally strong grain and warm colour for which period pitch pine is so prized.

Tall and unusually narrow in proportion, the cupboard has a simple architectural quality typical of practical institutional furniture of the mid-to-late Victorian period. The single full-height door is traditionally constructed with two large recessed panels, enclosed within substantial rails and stiles, and retains a turned wooden knob together with its decorative brass key escutcheon.

The simplicity of the design allows the timber to provide virtually all of the decoration. Particularly attractive are the strongly figured pitch-pine side boards, displaying dramatic growth rings, knots and rich reddish-brown figuring. A generously projecting top with softly rounded moulded edge provides a pleasing finishing detail, while the substantial plinth gives the cupboard a reassuringly grounded appearance.

Furniture of this straightforward and durable type was widely employed in Victorian schools, institutions, estate offices, kitchens and housekeepers’ rooms, where robust construction and useful storage were more important than elaborate ornamentation. Its restrained design is consequently extremely versatile in a modern interior.

At just 659 mm wide, this is an especially useful size. It offers the presence and storage capacity of a tall antique cupboard without requiring the considerable wall space of a traditional housekeeper’s cupboard or linen press.

The pitch pine retains a particularly attractive mellow surface, with historic knocks, marks and variations in colour providing precisely the character expected from a piece approaching 160 years old.

A superb piece of Victorian utilitarian furniture, equally at home as a kitchen pantry cupboard, bathroom linen cupboard, bedroom storage cabinet or hallway cupboard.

Circa 1870.

Dimensions

Height: 1326 mm / 132.6 cm / 52.2 in
Width: 659 mm / 65.9 cm / 25.9 in
Depth: 397 mm / 39.7 cm / 15.6 in

Stock Number: 2261