Tags
Antique, Chinoiserie, Craigslist, Dining & Entertaining, Furniture, Home and Garden, Interior design, Kijiji, Kijiji Montreal, Montreal, Shopping, style, Thrift, Thrifting, Union National, Vintage, vintage furniture
If you liked the Drexel chinoiserie chest on Thursday, I’m about to rock your socks off:
Union National Chinoiserie Buffet
A black lacquered chinoiserie dining room sideboard or buffet. With original metal plate indicating it was made by Union National Furniture of Jamestown, New York.
Started in 1901, Union National differentiated itself (and survived the Depression) by focusing on quality and superior finishing work. Their individually hand painted pieces are especially famous, each a custom ordered work of art, no two alike, with three dimensional brush work, fine gilding and a built-up hand rubbed finish. Look for an artist’s signature worked subtly into the design – Merrill Coffin, the head artist, has his own collector following.
For a painted piece such as this one, the case work will be maple, the gold leaf sourced from Milan, and the brasses from another Jamestown company: the Chautauqua Hardware Corporation.
Hours of craftsmanship went into this piece: you’d pay a fortune for something of comparable quality new today, and auction results for painted Union National pieces are in the high hundreds to thousands.
Kirkland. Asking $150, negotiable. STEAL
Let me know please, if you bring this home!
Montreal Digs 
Hi Jennifer! Could you please contact me through email? I have a question/decision to make on the dresser and could use your expert opinion.
Thanks, maggie
Hi Jennifer, Thank you for having this buffet on your blog. It was mine and it did sell very quickly. This was the second time i listed it on Craigslist. The first time at $275 then reduced to $175 with no takers for over a month. I am happy it is going to someone who appreciates it’s quality and beauty. Please email me as i have another piece i would like your opinion on.
Thanks Sharon
Glad it sold, Sharon! I heard back from another reader that the buffet had a few condition issues, so I think you got a fair price: it won’t be easy to restore, although doable (japanning furniture used to be a “lady who lunched” hobby back in the 18th century!)
If anyone’s interested, the bible for restorers is John Stalker and George Parker’s A Treatise of Ja-panning and Varnishing, published in London in 1688 – their paint and varnish recipes and design templates are still used today. Copies are expensive, but if you dig around you’ll find excerpts and tips on restorer blogs and sites.
I’ve sent you an email, Sharon, if you have another piece you’d like featured on the blog. Thanks, Jen