How can you tell if a chest is antique?

To tell if a chest is antique, first examine its materials and details carefully. An antique chest is one produced 100 years ago or more. This generally predates the use of engineered wood, particleboard, plastics and other synthetic materials. As a result, an antique chest usually features solid wood construction.In addition, antique chests are likely to be handmade, so you should be able to spot subtle signs that indicate this, such as tool marks and small irregularities in any carvings. If a piece looks flawless and regular, it is unlikely to be antique. Locating a maker's mark and then researching when the manufacturer was active can also help you date your chest. Alternatively, you can use the services of a certified appraiser or knowledgeable antique dealer to learn more about your chest.On 1stDibs, shop a large selection of antique chests.

How do I identify an antique chest of drawers?

To identify an antique chest of drawers, look inside and beneath drawers and on the back and bottom for any type of maker's marking. Researching these marks using trusted online resources may allow you to determine who produced your chest and roughly date your piece. If your chest is at least 100 years old, it is an antique. Should you be unable to locate the maker's marks, look at the hardware. Rose head nails, one-piece cast brass pommels on the drawer handles and circular rather than hexagonal bolts may all indicate that a piece is an antique. Keep in mind that hardware may have been replaced at some point and that there are many reproductions of antique furnishings. As a result, you may wish to have a certified appraiser or experienced antique dealer complete the identification process if you're unable to identify your chest via the maker's markings. Find a range of antique chests of drawers on 1stDibs.

Antique Wedding Chest

Dated Chest

Italian Wedding Blanket

Marriage Chest

Korean Wedding Cabinet

Italian Cassone Chest

19th Century Painted Blanket Chest

Wedding Trunk

19th Century Korean Chest

Category

19th Century French Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Pine, Oak

Oak/Pine Wedding Coffre

$4,800

Persimmon Wood Clothing Chest

Located in San Francisco, CA

top and bottom. This chest is a wedding chest that two people can use for clothing and kimono storage

Category

Early 20th Century Japanese Antique Wedding Chest

Persimmon Wood Clothing Chest

$4,650

Korean Wedding Box

Located in San Francisco, CA

Antique Korean wedding chest made with pine wood during the Chosun dynasty, 19th century. The

Category

19th Century Korean Antique Wedding Chest

Korean Wedding Box

$450

Two Section Clothing Chest from Nihonmatsu Japan

Located in New York, NY

symbols of longevity indicating that this was a wedding chest.

Category

Early 20th Century Japanese Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Brass

Two Section Clothing Chest from Nihonmatsu Japan

$11,040

Dutch Antique Wedding “Hope” Chest

By Old Colony Furniture

Located in Lijnden, Noord-Holland

This wedding or “Hope” chest from approximately 1850 was used to collect items such as clothing and

Category

1850s Dutch Folk Art Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Wood

Dutch Antique Wedding “Hope” Chest

$2,316

Japanese 4 section Clothing Chest

Located in San Francisco, CA

and excellent condition clothing chest is a Japanese wedding chest traditionally used to store kimonos

Category

Early 20th Century Japanese Antique Wedding Chest

Japanese 4 section Clothing Chest

$4,650

Red Armoire

Located in San Francisco, CA

Chinese Wedding Chest from Shanxi province. Features bi-fold doors. RC1-255010

Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Elm

Red Armoire

$4,650

Slice of Wedding Cake Chest of Drawers

Located in Seattle, WA

Over-the-top and highly sculptural, this white-painted chest of drawers in the Rococo style is

Category

Early 20th Century American Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Wood, Paint

Slice of Wedding Cake Chest of Drawers

$4,600

Spanish Colonial Bargueño

Located in San Francisco, CA

initials, "A. R." indicate that this Bargueño was probably a wedding chest.

Category

18th Century and Earlier Peruvian Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Wood

Spanish Colonial Bargueño

$7,800

Exceptional Venetian Wedding Cassone

Located in Carpinteria, CA

An exceptional Venetian wedding cassone with engraved "Pyrogravura" details. This magnificent

Category

18th Century and Earlier Italian Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Walnut

Exceptional Venetian Wedding Cassone

$58,000

Early 19th Century Antique Damachiya Dowry Chest

Located in Phoenix, AZ

wedding gifts and dowries. Use as a statement decor piece, console table, pillow/blanket chest or as

Category

Early 19th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Wood

Early 19th Century Antique Damachiya Dowry Chest

$2,800

Antique Scandinavian Decorated Wedding Dowry Dome Top Trunk, Sweden 1812, B2060

Located in Vancouver, BC

Antique Scandinavian decorated wedding dowry dome top trunk, Sweden 1812, B2060. Sweden 1812

Category

1810s Swedish Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Pine

Antique Scandinavian Decorated Wedding Dowry Dome Top Trunk, Sweden 1812, B2060

$950

Stunning Large Late 19th Century Thai Parcel-Gilt and Painted Wedding Trunk

Located in Washington, DC

Stunning late 19th century Thai parcel-gilt and painted wedding trunk.

Category

Late 19th Century Thai Antique Wedding Chest

Stunning Large Late 19th Century Thai Parcel-Gilt and Painted Wedding Trunk

$5,800

19th C. Louis XVI dowry chest

Located in Houston, TX

19th C. French Louis XVI wedding dowry chest with original blue paint, and original date, Provence

Category

19th Century French Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Wood, Paint

19th C. Louis XVI dowry chest

$11,000

Korean Chest on Chest

Located in San Francisco, CA

and groom from their parents as a wedding present. Korean chest would look great at the end of a hall

Category

19th Century South Korean Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Elm

Korean Chest on Chest

$2,650

Superb 19th Century, Mother-of-Pearl Wedding Chest from Syria

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

Mother-of-pearl wedding chest from Syria. Intricate mother-of-pearl and camel bone inlay. One-of-a

Category

19th Century Syrian Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Mother-of-Pearl

Superb 19th Century, Mother-of-Pearl Wedding Chest from Syria

$6,900

Superb 19th Century Mother-of-pearl Wedding Chest from Syria

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

Mother-of-Pearl wedding chest from Syria. Intricate mother-of-pearl and camel bone inlay. One-of-a

Category

19th Century Moroccan Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Mother-of-Pearl

Superb 19th Century Mother-of-pearl Wedding Chest from Syria

$9,850

Mixteca 19th Century Wedding Chest Jaguar and Crowned Eagle Carvings Arched Top

Located in Wells, ME

Mixteca early 19th century wedding chest from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. This wedding chest is

Category

Early 19th Century Mexican Folk Art Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Pine

Mixteca 19th Century Wedding Chest Jaguar and Crowned Eagle Carvings Arched Top

$2,150

French Birdseye Maple Wedding Chest Box, 19th Century

Located in Northampton, United Kingdom

Large French sarcophagus shaped wedding chest veneered in stunning bird's-eye maple standing on

Category

19th Century French Victorian Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Brass

French Birdseye Maple Wedding Chest Box, 19th Century

$1,370

Vintage Wooden Wedding Chest with Hand Painted Flowers, France, 19th Century

Located in Copenhagen K, DK

France, late 19th century Vintage wedding chest in wood painted with flowers and birds

Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Wood

Vintage Wooden Wedding Chest with Hand Painted Flowers, France, 19th Century

$1,817

18th Century English Wedding Chest or Coffer

Located in Chicago, IL

. The date 1784 is carved on right and left hand front outside corners. Each side of the chest is carved

Category

Mid-18th Century English Elizabethan Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Oak

18th Century English Wedding Chest or Coffer

$4,450

Antique Chinese Wedding Chest

Located in New York, NY

Handpainted with birds and floral sprays, including peonies and lotus blossoms, on a black ground with brass hardware.

Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Antique Wedding Chest

Antique Chinese Wedding Chest

$2,250

Huge Antique French 22" Maple Trousseau or Marriage Chest, 1700s

Located in South Coast, CA

Exceptional antique French Charles X (or Georgian) era trousseau or wedding/marriage chest, a

Category

19th Century French Antique Wedding Chest

Huge Antique French 22" Maple Trousseau or Marriage Chest, 1700s

$2,195

Large-Scale Japanese Trousseau/Chest with Kamon Decoration

Located in San Francisco, CA

A very large wood Japanese wedding or storage chest or trunk, late-Meiji or early-Taishō period

Category

Early 20th Century Japanese Antique Wedding Chest

Materials

Brass, Iron

Large-Scale Japanese Trousseau/Chest with Kamon Decoration

$3,500

Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets Under $3,000

Antique and Vintage Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets

19th Century Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets

Wood Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets

European Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets

Case Pieces and Storage Cabinets on Sale

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Antique Wedding Chest For Sale on 1stDibs

With a vast inventory of beautiful furniture at 1stDibs, we’ve got just the antique wedding chest you’re looking for. Frequently made of wood, metal and hardwood, every antique wedding chest was constructed with great care. You’ve searched high and low for the perfect antique wedding chest — we have versions that date back to the 18th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 20th Century are available. An antique wedding chest is a generally popular piece of furniture, but those created in Folk Art, Baroque and Empire styles are sought with frequency.

How Much is a Antique Wedding Chest?

Prices for an antique wedding chest start at $750 and top out at $58,000 with the average selling for $3,500.

Questions About Antique Wedding Chest

How can you tell if a chest is antique?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertSeptember 9, 2024
To tell if a chest is antique, first examine its materials and details carefully. An antique chest is one produced 100 years ago or more. This generally predates the use of engineered wood, particleboard, plastics and other synthetic materials. As a result, an antique chest usually features solid wood construction.

In addition, antique chests are likely to be handmade, so you should be able to spot subtle signs that indicate this, such as tool marks and small irregularities in any carvings. If a piece looks flawless and regular, it is unlikely to be antique. Locating a maker's mark and then researching when the manufacturer was active can also help you date your chest. Alternatively, you can use the services of a certified appraiser or knowledgeable antique dealer to learn more about your chest.

On 1stDibs, shop a large selection of antique chests.
How do I identify an antique chest of drawers?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertNovember 4, 2024
To identify an antique chest of drawers, look inside and beneath drawers and on the back and bottom for any type of maker's marking. Researching these marks using trusted online resources may allow you to determine who produced your chest and roughly date your piece. If your chest is at least 100 years old, it is an antique. Should you be unable to locate the maker's marks, look at the hardware. Rose head nails, one-piece cast brass pommels on the drawer handles and circular rather than hexagonal bolts may all indicate that a piece is an antique. Keep in mind that hardware may have been replaced at some point and that there are many reproductions of antique furnishings. As a result, you may wish to have a certified appraiser or experienced antique dealer complete the identification process if you're unable to identify your chest via the maker's markings. Find a range of antique chests of drawers on 1stDibs.