Antique Chest Drawers

Thinking of buying your first antique piece of furniture to add a bit of character and charm to your home, but don`t know what exactly to look for? We have got you covered. A largely overlooked item is a chest of drawers that serves the dual purpose of storage as well as beautification. They are known by a myriad of names, the most common ones being dressers, chests and chiffoniers.

It is widely accepted that the first chest of drawers was invented by a Chinese physicist, who went by the name of Hus Tuo (180-280 CE) for the purpose of storing different kinds of medicines. Such a chest of drawers was often referred to as “Hundred Drawers”. Chests came into use in Europe in the medieval period, but were typically found in the lavish homes of the nobility. At that point in time they were known as coffers and only consisted of a single or on some rare occasions two drawers. They may or may not have stood on feet.  

An antique chest of drawers as we know it today has evolved over a period of hundreds of years with regards to its design. Some of the earliest pieces that  have survived the test of time are from sixteenth century England and are made of oak. Some surviving antique pieces are from seventeenth century France and are made of French walnut. In England, in the 1600 a particular style of dressers came about and were called mule chests. They were distinctly characterised by the fact that they were more wide and longer than they were high and deep. They remained high in popularity for over a hundred years in both England and Colonial America.

Investing in an authentic antique chest of drawers will benefit you in more ways than you think and are definitely worth the price.