Help identifying large Gothic Medieval Monastery Cabinet

[monsterbuck1974]

Looking for help on identifying this cabnet. I dont know anything about it and cant find anything that matches exactly on the net. Any help on identifying it and its possible worth would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Brian

[dietzberger]

I see no one has tackled this one. Trying to find any sort of expert on Medieval furniture in the US will be a real trick. From what little I know this looks like a 15th-century form--late Medieval--and relates to a form I call a Court Cupboard. But anything in this country that is supposed to be this old must be studied with a very suspicious eye. Actually, if it was acquired in Europe, that wouldn't make it less suspicious.  Very little medieval furniture survives, and a lot of it has been improved or altered over time. I'll bet that even your good photographs aren't going to help anyone come to a definitive answer. The really tricky thing is that parts of it could be medieval, assembled by a clever craftsman into a believable whole. You'd be wise to send the images to a place like the Cloisters, in NYC, the medieval wing of the Metropolitan Museum.

[anteekdoc]

Hi..I agree, in the late 1800s English furniture from the 1600s and 1700s were extensively repaired with pieces from cannibalized leftovers..these were sold in England and brought to the US by the boatloads. They now have 120 years on them and look quite good at times..Looking at the condition of your backing as well as other parts it could be a later creation from the mid to late 1800s..I have a number of "early" English pieces in my collection..they all have extensive wear and evidence of age..cracks, mouse holes, later modifications..and they all appear to be reconstructed somewhere along the line.

[ernie59]

always hard to pick details of construction from photos. English or continental 1860-80. Gothic revival. Species of oak appears to be European. Saw marks on back boards and bottom look wrong for pitsaw type of cutting. Are the hinges fastened  to case with clinch nails or screws? I have handled a few cabinets of this sort that were American c. 1925 that had amazing detail and were actually for early radio sets.