He liked it because of the intensive hand carving and the amazing artistic detail.
The inside of it smells like cedar and is very pleasant to inhale. The odor reminds me that of a spa.
His client told him that her ex-husband brought it home from his trip to Singapore. The chest was dusty but otherwise appeared unused as there were wood chips on the bottom of it. When we brought it home, I searched the net to find if it has any historical significance, but had a difficult time finding info. One source suggested that these chests were very popular after WW2 and were shipped to the US in large quantities. And that these chests are not made anymore. I also found similar chests on sale on e-bay and were shocked to see them on sale for an ungodly price of $2,000! Who would pay that much for a chest in such economy as this unless it is a true treasure?
But, the woman sold it to us for...$100 and left us speculating if perhaps this is "trash" after all.
So, we now have this piece of furniture for which we are yet to find a good spot. I want to know if there is a story behind these chests. I am secretly hoping to learn that we are owners (for the very first time) of an original piece of art and that they don't currently sell these in large quantities at Ross. Do any of you own one of these or know someone who does?
It's very pretty!
ReplyDeleteThere's this magazine, that I can't remember the name of for the life of me, that you can send pictures in to and they research it and tell you where the item came from and what it's wort, etc... Try googling it, and I'll let you know if I find something!
You could also try and find an antique dealer to look at it as they might know something!