Rare Victorian Est. 2008 · The Curator's Archive
eBay Antiques No. 381

Lingerie Chest Signed Alexander Roux

Originally published

Alexander RouxCabinetBob CourtneyVeneerFrenchBroadwayLabelInlayLingerieStencilChest

Lingerie Chest Signed Alexander Roux
Lingerie Chest Signed Alexander Roux
Lingerie Chest Signed Alexander RouxI just noticed this signed Alexander Roux piece in today's Bob Courtney sale. It is always exciting to have a Roux piece bearing the original stencil of it's maker. The expected sale range reflects this importance ($15,000 to $20,000) and it will be interesting to watch what price this item closes at since it is a more simple design and has some veneer issues around the inlay. Judging by the date in the stenciled label of "French Cabinet Maker" Alexander Roux, this desk was made between 1850 and 1867 due to the 479 and 481 Broadway location and not the 1880 assertion in the listing. Roux locations and dates can be referenced on our Alexander Roux bio page. More images at the listing.

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7 comments

  1. Tom Webster
    I find it interesting that they don't know the difference between satinwood, and maple. This is certainly knowledge that they should have if they are going to peddle expensive antique furniture.
  2. Zeke
    A few thoughts on this piece: It certainly does not scream Roux to me, it doesn’t even whisper Roux! Roux employed 120 people in his shop in 1855 and he also imported furniture from France that he sold in his shop. This piece looks French to me and possibly imported by Roux and he put his stencil on because he sold it out of his shop. The diagonal veneer is very distinct in much French furniture. Take all this with a grain of salt as it could have possibly been made in Roux's factory and could possibly be made by Roux himself. Perhaps the inlay part was imported and Roux's shop made the case? My gut feeling is that it is an imported piece bearing the name of the shop that sold it, but hey I’m no expert, just voicing my opinion here.
  3. RareVictorian
    I agree Zeke - very likely could be one of his imports.
  4. RareVictorian
    closed at $13,000
  5. james conrad
    Hmmmm, interesting. I agree with Tom Webster, although i dont know what that interior wood is exactly, one things for sure, it's not Birdeyes Maple. Birdseye maple occurs primarily in Sugar Maple (Acer Suchrum) and is native to north america, primarily new england and canada. After reading Zeke's post, an ugly thought has just popped into my head, did they catalog this piece with birdseye maple to attribute to north america or was it was just an innocent mistake?
  6. RareVictorian
    I think it was an honest mistake. Some of us haven't seen enough Satinwood to know it when we see it. As an aside, there were some very strong prices realized in this sale on some famous name pieces such as the "Alexander Roux" console which looked Continental to me and took $22k. Have you ever seen Roux do this? I think not. I'm also wondering if the $31k Belter table was actually Meeks, but not sure. I see they updated the "Horner" chair to be Karpen in the title (missed the description change) as I had identified above in the post. Anyway, I have a whole slew of old, old 80 foot sugar maples in my yard which will be coming down over the years due to disease. Wonder if I should chop them up for lumber?
  7. james conrad
    OK, lol, i feel better now that it was an honest mistake. Should you cut your maples that are diseased? Couldnt hurt, although birdseye and curly maple (tiger) figure occur in a very small percentage of trees, probably less than 5%. Naturally, figured maple is a highly sought after wood, not only by cabinetmakers but by musical instrument makers & gunsmiths as well.

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