Empire Banquette from 1840's

 Here you see a matching pair of American Empire Banquettes from ca. 1840,  flame mahogany, serpentine crest with scroll carving, serpentine skirt, and  rear bracket feet. 

 I bought these yesterday from a consignment shop.  They had been there for a long time and the owner said they were odd and too small and no one had shown any interest in them.  I was able to conceal  my excitement.  The last pair I saw ( the only pair I had ever seen)  was priced on sale at $1800. 

American Empire furniture is not for everyone.  It's the furniture of the Old South.  It's in every plantation home I have ever been in. It was out of style by 1850 when Renaissance Revival was taking over. Then Eastlake came in from about 1870 to 1885. Then the Era of Golden Oak ran from 1880 to 1920.  My dates may be off a little but that's basically the story. 

 This was not done by a machine. 

 The upholstery...love it or leave it; an easy fix.  The only problem...how do you work two of these into a log cabin full of primitives?  Yep, put them upstairs in the secret Empire attic bedroom.   Don't tell my purist prim friends that I can't give up all my Victorian ways.  

The sun came out today so I'm airing out a rug I'm going to sell at the shop next week.  I"m looking for a worn out rug with mustard and maybe a bit of blue to replace it. That patch of green in the yard reminds me that March is on the way.  I'm glad to have lived through another winter.