Antique English Period George II Oak Cupboard, Circa 1750

George II oak cupboard  with boxwood and ebonized inlay decoration on drawers, paneled doors and sides, bracket feet.

Oak is hard and heavy, the color varying from white to brown.  The wood of existing medieval English furniture is native oak, almost without exception.  The extensive forests of Britain were thickly stocked with oak it was used for furniture.  It was cut down in great quantities but planting did not keep pace with consumption and an Act was passed during  the rule of Henry  VIII enforcing the preservation of oak woods.  During the reign of Elizabeth I the oak woods had become common again but wouldn’t become mature for another one hundred years.  Oak was split while the timber was green and would have been seasoned by immersion in water – a river or stream  – for sometimes as long as two years and then cut, stacked and dried.  Oak was increasingly used as a carcase wood and for drawer linings in the best quality and more sophisticated furniture from the 17th century.  In country furniture it was always very popular.

• English Circa 1750
• Height: 34 " | Width: 57" | Depth: 22 "
• Item #6343
• Price: $14,500