Busacca Gallery

A great antique oak chest of drawers. 44-1/2"W x 21-1/2"D x 52-1/4"H Dark patina on the oak chest with three smaller drawers over four, turned wood knobs, tall bracket foot base, applied dentile just below the top, pine secondary woods, dovetailed drawers. Will require truck delivery. Condition: General wear throughout; old restorations have been made over time. Outer facing of one back leg has come off and has some losses, but is present. Top drawer escutcheon missing. Dentil lifting along one side.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chest_of_drawers

A chest of drawers, also called (especially in North American English) a dresser or a bureau, is a piece of furniture that has multiple parallel, horizontal drawers stacked one above another. A chifforobe (from chiffonier + wardrobe) is a combination of a wardrobe and a chest of drawers.

Chests of drawers have traditionally been made and used for storing clothing, especially underwear, socks, and other items not normally hung in or otherwise stored in a closet. They are usually placed in a bedroom for this purpose, but can actually be used to store anything that will fit inside and can be placed anywhere in a house or another place. Various personal sundry items are also often stored in a chest of drawers. It has a long history as one of the stand-bys of a carpenter's workshop. A typical chest is approximately rectangular in overall shape and often has short legs at the bottom corners for placement on the floor.

Chests of drawers often come in 5-, 6-, and 7-drawer varieties, with either a single or a double top drawer. The chest illustrated at right would be described as a '2 over 5 chest-on-chest', the latter term deriving from the fact that at one time it would have been made as 2 separable pieces. They are commonly made of wood, similar to many other kinds of furniture, but of course can be made of other materials. The inside of the drawers can be accessed by pulling them out at the front side. It is often placed so that the back side faces a wall since access to the back is not necessary. The lateral sides are also usually made such that they can be placed against a wall or in a corner. Although they can be plain in appearance, chests of drawers can also be made with a fancy or ornamental appearance, including finishes and various external color tones. Traditionally, drawers would slide out on smooth wood rails. Most modern cabinets use roll-out shelf sliders, made of metal, with rollers.

Most chests of drawers fall into one of two types: those which are about waist-high or bench-high and those (usually with more drawers) which are about shoulder-high. Both types typically have a flat surface on top. Waist-high chests often have a mirror placed vertically on top, which is often bought with the piece. While a user is getting dressed or otherwise preparing their grooming, he or she can look at themselves in the mirror to check their appearance. Some users may keep lamps for lighting on top of either kind of dresser, and decorative items or photos are sometimes added for appearance.