Elegant antique French Napoleon III era 21 3/4" wide cashmere box, a huge chest with beautiful rosewood veneers, working lock with key and finished birdseye or burled interior! A treasure of a box, extra large in size and made to store the cashmeres (wools of Kasimir) that were exotic imported treasures of the era in French aristocratic homes. The oversized chests such as the one you see here kept away the pesky moths that might damage fine woolen shawls and table coverings. Of course, only the wealthiest 1830-70 French were worrying about their cashmere, and the ebeniste's industry was happy to provide these furniture pieces/chest boxes to their liking. The box is oversized, as noted, is in fine condition both inside and out. The interior of these chests, this one particularly, were as important as the exterior, and as you see here, made of beautiful figured veneers and inlay of finest quality. Nothing overly frilly here, we often find these with ornate boulle inlays. This one in a warm patinated rosewood and they also make fabulous end tables, often with a platform and legs added to them. This one even has a working lock with skeleton key. Just in from France, this one is not to be missed!
Very good condition. There are a few spots at the edges or corners with some faith veneer splitting or damage, shown in the pictures here. The key is not original but works the lock just fine. All original locks and interior hardware. A few other imperfections but, as you can see, it's in remarkable shape with age, etc. considered. See pictures for all measurements.
