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Tansu Style Chest

comments (2) December 31st, 2008 in Reader's Gallery

ACT7713, member

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Photo: Photo by S. Bandler

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The pippy chestnut and matching spessart oak were an impulse buy during a visit to Talarico hardwoods. They sat in my shop until I was inspired by a Japanese chest in the Peabody Essex museum. In that piece the artisan used book matched pieces to create an abstract pattern in an otherwise very geometric piece.

My goal in this piece was to create a coherent design from many contrasting elements: straight grained oak vs. the wild chestnut, rectilinear design vs. the natural edge on the sliding panels, texture of the chest vs. the ebonized base, the paper vs. the wood and iron, the symmetry of the panels vs. the asymmetric layout of the drawers, and the solidity of the chest vs the lightness of the base.

Primary woods: Spessart oak, Pippy European Chestnut, Black silk paper, Ebonized Cherry

Finish: Blonde shellac, wax

Size: 30 ¾”x 15 ½”x 41 ½”