Rare Dressoir Dates Back Over 400 Years

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Feb 24th 2011 at 1:01AM

The striking piece above comes with an equally striking price tag. M.S. Rau Antiques in New Orleans is selling this amazing dressoir or sideboard which was created over 425 years ago during the Francis-I period.

The 16th-century sideboard is similar to one that is in the Frick Collection. In a blog post Bill Rau of M.S. Rau Antiques says that Henry Clay Frick bought the mate to this piece in 1917 paying $110,000 for it at the time, an astronomical sum at the time. This beautifully carved piece is walnut with an oak interior and is comparable to other pieces that are in museums around the world. Four ornately carved chimeras stand sentinel on the edges of the sideboard. A piece like this would be used in a dining hall to display and store the silver, linen and other items used in formal dinner services. It measures 71 3/4" wide x 23 1/2" deep x 65 3/8" high and is priced at $985,000.

Tags: antique furniture, M.S. Rau Antiques