Help me with details of this Pyrography Storage Case?

[Vintage Betty]

Here is an item I recently purchased for a steal of a price at the Charity Sale I helped out at - I got a volunteer discount and than I ALSO got a discount for donating to the charity - I felt like I was robbing the store, honestly! It's really unusual, and I was wondering if anyone had any additional info?

Here's my best guesstimate:

I'm thinking this is a pyrography piece from the 1910's from either Argentina or Afghanistan. Here's my clues:

1) The pyrography (wood burning art) of this caliber has the traditional pattern designs of the art nouveau period - the swooping embellishments, the clovers.

2) The internal lock (which might have been a re-used piece) is also typical 1910's era lock and key mechanism.

3) The hinges are period correct for the era

4) Goats are part of the culture more in Argentina and Afghanistan, which is one of the homes of pyrography. I thought the goats had their horns broken off, but actually, the artist carved them that way and are complete. I'm not used to seeing goats with shortened horns, so this is either a cultural, artisitic or period-era decision on what was acceptable.

5) The wood is old-school, and is not modern. I'm also wondering if it was made for export originally?

I darkened the images so you can see all the detail.

I think someone took this apart and made it into a CD case recently. And the odd signature or marking on the back has me stumped.

Actually, maybe this is a cigar drying rack or vintage humidor???

What do you think?

Thanks!

Vintage Betty

 

[epr25]

I don;t know what it is but great find. I usually don't go for things like this but I really dig it. Maybe something for artwork? Paintings?

 

[BeBopBaby]

At first glance, I thought the goat carvings on top looked like German black forest carvings. But then the cabinet almost looks like old Chinese export.

I don't know why, but after looking at it again, I get a strong Chinese vibe from it. I'm far from an expert on this though, I'm just going on gut instinct. Do you know what kind of wood it is made from?

 

[Vintage Betty]

I don;t know what it is but great find. I usually don't go for things like this but I really dig it. Maybe something for artwork? Paintings?

That's really interesting, because this isn't the normal thing I would go for either. It just caught my eye, coupled with the amazing low price, I figured I'd never have a chance at something like this again for a similar price. The goats aren't really my thing, but I do admire the work that went into it. Maybe I just like the mystery? [huh]

At first glance, I thought the goat carvings on top looked like German black forest carvings. But then the cabinet almost looks like old Chinese export.

I don't know why, but after looking at it again, I get a strong Chinese vibe from it. I'm far from an expert on this though, I'm just going on gut instinct. Do you know what kind of wood it is made from?

That's a really estute comment, BeBopBaby. It DOES look like German black forest carvings. I thought it looked European, but you could be absolutely correct. I'm not a wood person, so I'm hoping someone might jump in an tell me. Thanks for your comments!

The more I think about this, I think this is a cigar drying case...

 

[KittyT]

I don't know why, but after looking at it again, I get a strong Chinese vibe from it. I'm far from an expert on this though, I'm just going on gut instinct. Do you know what kind of wood it is made from?

The carvings on the doors actually look like dogwood flowers to me, which is probably why you're getting a far east vibe from it. It's very traditional in Japanese art, I believe.

 

[Warbaby]

I get a strong hit of Western European - South German or Belgian. Prolly last quarter of the 19th century. Those critters on top look more like lambs to me and lambs are a common religious symbol in European folk crafts. But I'm baffled by those divided inserts. I think they're original to the piece, but I can't imagine what they're for.

Umm...gotta go think on this some more.

 

[Lucky Strike]

Vintage B - I didn't see this thread before - did you delete the photos?

Just curious about it, from the description.

 

[Miss 1929]

Me neither

No pictures...

EDIT - OK, now I can see it. I say humidor! No one wants a dry cigar, the point is to keep them moist. If there was a shallow tray of water in the bottom, it would work beautifully (and explains the slots in the shelves, so water would not collect under the cigar).

It also looks a lot like a Swiss music box that has been in our family about 150 years...that same sort of Black Foresty stuff.

 

[Vintage Betty]

...problem is now fixed...please continue to enjoy your Lounge experience. Thank you for the Community Watch report.

 

[Vintage Betty]

I get a strong hit of Western European - South German or Belgian. Prolly last quarter of the 19th century. Those critters on top look more like lambs to me and lambs are a common religious symbol in European folk crafts. But I'm baffled by those divided inserts. I think they're original to the piece, but I can't imagine what they're for.

Umm...gotta go think on this some more.

Thanks for your thoughts. The more I think about this piece, the more I'm convinced it had something to do with cigars.

Vintage Betty

 

[Josephine]

Thanks for your thoughts. The more I think about this piece, the more I'm convinced it had something to do with cigars.

Vintage Betty

What does it smell like?

 

[Lucky Strike]

At first glance, I thought the goat carvings on top looked like German black forest carvings. But then the cabinet almost looks like old Chinese export.

I agree about the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) angle, but the typical Schwarzwald carvings were stained dark, and carved, rather than with the burnt/pyrography decor. The carving on top, however, is very Schwarzwald/Tirol/South German in style.

I get a strong hit of Western European - South German or Belgian. Prolly last quarter of the 19th century. Those critters on top look more like lambs to me and lambs are a common religious symbol in European folk crafts. But I'm baffled by those divided inserts. I think they're original to the piece, but I can't imagine what they're for.

Umm...gotta go think on this some more.

It looks a bit rough, in the sense that it's probably not made by a professional cabinetmaker, but rather by an accomplished farmer, local carpenter or cottage industrialist.

If you look closely at the decoration on the middle railing, between the doors, and the border near the top, you see that it's quite uneven and decidedly amateurish, whereas the floral pattern is quite precise and accomplished, and has been drawn up by a more professional hand. It looks more like the more florid and curvy French art nouveau, than the German Jugendstil.

The patterns for decorations like these could be bought, either separately or as parts of the illustrated magazines of the day. They give few clues as to country or culture of origin.

The hinges and lock are generic - the hinges seem to be zinc-covered, which would place it at the very late 19th century or later. Galvanising steel with zinc was much used in Germany and surrounding countries.

There are four holes in the back panel - do these look as if the cabinet has been hanging from them? If they seem to be worn smooth at the edges by a moving rope, like they have been used for putting rope through and carried on the back, that makes me think of Tyrolean and Mittel-European farmers' "winter work" - typically many of these farmers would be isolated and forced to idleness in winter. They would then make various carvings (like the Black Forest ones), musical instruments (the same Black Forest farmers produced thousands of cheap violins), marquetry tables, etc. In some cases, they would buy "basis" furniture and just modify it and decorate it.

The mountain farmers typically carried their product to the town markets on their backs, come spring or a rare visit to town. Some was bought up and exported, and some was eventually bought for hunting lodges in the German "Jagdstil" ("hunting style"). It was a sort of early, commercialised folk art.

Also, keep in mind that Germany was very much at the top of their world-politcal career in the years before WWI, and the German cultural influences on Scandinavia and Eastern Europe was huge. Any Dutch, Scandinavian, Swiss, Austro-Hungarian, Pole, etc., would be wont to look to Germany for stylistic impulses.

Another point is that DIY and various handiwork projects were quite common in all classes in this period, and the burning/pyrography method was eminently well-suited for decorating and "sprucing up" an old piece of furniture. Here's a slightly similar cabinet:

As to the actual use, I'm stumped. The trays seem original - you can see the original-looking slots for them. The trays are seemingly designed for drying or keeping something dry, hence the slots in each compartment. On the other hand, the trays could also be intended for cutlery.

My guess: Black Forest or maybe rather Tyrolean cabinet, made by a handy farmer in winter, for sale at one of the town markets in late winter or spring. Could also be elsewhere in the German cultural sphere of the day, but almost certainly c. 1910, +/- 20 years.

Very nice find, that, should fetch a good price if you have it tightened and cleaned up a bit. Perfect for the hunting/ski-lodge-owning crowd. Isn't the "log-cabin" style still popular in the US?

A few questions:
- Can you identify the stains at the bottom inside? Ink, tar, oil/fat, acidic burns?
- Any closer interpretation of the markings on the back panel? I can make out a few letters, but you may be able to de-chipher it somewhat more.
- How does the lock look? Any markings?

 

[Vintage Betty]

Wow, Lucky Strike, you certainly are an expert on these items! I'll pull it and answer your questions shortly.

Thanks so much for the wonderful answer!

 

[Lucky Strike]

Wow, Lucky Strike, you certainly are an expert on these items! I'll pull it and answer your questions shortly.

Thanks so much for the wonderful answer!

Heh, I haven't really seen that many, but I read an article about the Schhwarzwald stuff, and it seems to have stuck.

 

[John in Covina]

Any residual smells from the cabinet that might give a key to the original contents?

The racks are interesting. Is that the original number of racks?
If so then maybe they were moveable to contain items of different sizes.

What could have been meant to slip into the slots in those racks?

I thought about books of pictures, viewing slides. Maybe collections of 78 records?

Some type of albums of collected items like flower pressings?

It has an organic Art New-voe (SP?) look to it.