Antique music cabinet

[SteveF]

Almost every weekend I can be found hunting tools. On rare occasions somebody "forces" me to buy a piece of furniture. Today was one of those days. I bought this mahogany music cabinet in Lee,NH this morning. I haven't been to Lee for years, but another yard sale sounded good and I took a drive.

Amazing cabinet, I couldn't resist buying it. Maybe somebody will be inspired by it. I apologize for the pics, they're not the best.

[EatenByLimestone]

That's a nice looking piece of furniture.

So, will it be a new sharpening station? Hold the miter saw?

[SlashDev]

Purty! Do you have any pics of the interior?

Cheers,
/dev

[SteveF]

Here's some pics of the inside and some close-ups of the outside.

[bandsaw]

Thanks for posting - interesting piece. Any hints on vintage, origins, species of wood?

[daveferg]

Just curious---but what makes you call it a music cabinet? Frankly it looks more like a wash or shave stand, though a bit ornate for that.

[SteveF]

bandsaw said:

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Thanks for posting - interesting piece. Any hints on vintage, origins, species of wood?

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I showed pics at the flea market this morning. It's been pretty well established that I got it for a song ($50).

One guy seemed sure it dated back to the period between Victorian and Art Deco (Art Nouveau?). Another guy thought it was not American and most likely English. I'm quite sure it's mahogany for the wood.

[Paul K. Murphy]

Victorian
Art Nouveau, or L'Art Nouveau
&
Art Deco

First, Art Deco and Art Nouveau are not the same thing.
I would describe the piece you have as Victorian. Unfortunately, that word is not very descriptive. During the Victorian period there really was no one thing or one aesthetic, that defined style. The Victorian period is a pastiche. The last really truly defined style was Empire, which is a late Neo-Classical style. By style, what I mean is an actual intent or ideology underlying the aesthetic choices. After Empire more or less ceased to be, we get Victorian in all its manifestations.
Art Nouveau came along roughly in 1890 or thereabouts. This was a return to a style that had an underlying aesthetic; an ideology.
Later, at this event,"Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" another style was presented to the public. Art Deco, obviously named for the event where it made its debut.
Your piece appears to be Victorian to me.

[SteveF]

daveferg said:

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Just curious---but what makes you call it a music cabinet? Frankly it looks more like a wash or shave stand, though a bit ornate for that.

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I was just going by what the owner called it. I couldn't find anything online that looked exactly like it, but a google image search turned up this:

Victorian music cabinet

[SteveF]

Paul K. Murphy said:

---

Victorian
Art Nouveau, or L'Art Nouveau
&
Art Deco

First, Art Deco and Art Nouveau are not the same thing.
I would describe the piece you have as Victorian. Unfortunately, that word is not very descriptive. During the Victorian period there really was no one thing or one aesthetic, that defined style. The Victorian period is a pastiche. The last really truly defined style was Empire, which is a late Neo-Classical style. By style, what I mean is an actual intent or ideology underlying the aesthetic choices. After Empire more or less ceased to be, we get Victorian in all its manifestations.
Art Nouveau came along roughly in 1890 or thereabouts. This was a return to a style that had an underlying aesthetic; an ideology.
Later, at this event,"Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" another style was presented to the public. Art Deco, obviously named for the event where it made its debut.
Your piece appears to be Victorian to me.

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Thanks for your help. I know that these styles didn't have firm cutoffs. I never meant to imply that Art Deco was the same as Art Nouveau. I was trying to say that since somebody opined it fell between the Victorian and Art Deco periods, that it was possibly Art Nouveau.