Bureau - Bureau

Bureau or chest of drawers and dressing glass in two parts. Upper enclosed section with shelves and drawers concealed by two doors of raised solid mahogany panels with blind Gothic arches frame an ogee-molded veneered glass suspended on rods, all set upon case with marble center section below. Doors and framing also solid mahogany with veneer. Fixed shelves with valances on interiors of upper section, with two small drawers below. Drawers have pine fronts veneered, tulip poplar sides, backs, and bottoms, all dovetailed and nailed. Backs of enclosed section has tulip poplar backboards. Single drawers depth of chest flank marble top and rest on the chest. Single drawers dovetailed with pine fronts veneered, tulip back and bottom, cherry sides stained. Chest of drawers consists of two short drawers over three graduated drawers and concealed shallow drawer in skirt, all of which are set flush into case. Upper drawers only open with key; no pulls, and have serpentine vertical profile that conforms to case profile at corners. Case of drawers with pine block bracket feet: brackets at rear are solid pine with scrolling profile to match profiles of front feet. Front feet also pine, but with curved facings added which have molded inner profile, then veneered. Case has paneled sides; sides consist of two pine boards glued, which float in frames made by cherry stiles and rails at top and bottom of case, all veneered with flame-grain mahogany. Large drawers in chest have cherry sides and fronts, fronts veneered with mahogany, dovetailed into tulip poplar backboards. Tulip poplar bottom boards slide into grooves on drawer sides and rabbet at drawer front, nailed through at back. Drawers slide on bottoms of drawer sides. No dustboards. Upper case rails on which sit the marble top are both pine, as well as drawer divider and glue blocks in case. Back consists of two large pine boards (laid with grain vertical) that join center pine board with tongue and groove (likely nailed at rear, but rear of case not reviewed). Bottom of case is a single tulip poplar board. Bottoms of drawers all bear prominent circular saw marks, left rough. Backs of drawers all consistently lower than sides and fronts. Very fine dovetails with narrow, triangular pins.