Painted Armoire in Pine, Central Europe, 1831

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This antique painted armoire in pine wood retains its original polychrome over a green ground, with four painted panels of … Read more This antique painted armoire in pine wood retains its original polychrome over a green ground, with four painted panels of flowers in urns. Originates from Austria, from the first half of the nineteenth century, where local pine was worked using mortise-and-tenon joinery and decorated in distemper.The frieze carries two red-painted reserves that split the date across the doors: 18 on the left, 31 on the right. A woman’s name runs between them. This was standard practice in Central European marriage furniture, where the cabinet was delivered dated and lettered with the name of its owner.The carcass is solid pine, with two panelled doors on a frame and a moulded cornice. Hinges and escutcheons are hand-forged iron, with knob pulls. It rests on four turned bun feet.The green ground has settled into a deep olive and the red of the mouldings has softened to an earthen orange. Handling wear around the locks and along the door edges exposes the wood beneath. The undecorated sides show bare pine with its grain and knots in full view.A piece of generous proportions that anchors a bedroom or a wide entrance hall. Its green and red palette sits well in rustic or Alpine interiors, and the painted front lets it carry all the colour in an otherwise restrained room. See less