Antique Art Deco Bird's-Eye Maple Cocktail Cabinet, circa 1925

View Similar Items

American Bird's-Eye Maple Cabinet

Pair of Art Deco Bird's Eye Maple & Walnut Bedside Cabinets, 1930s

French Armoire, Bird's-Eye Maple

Brian Palmer for Baker Bird's-Eye Maple Modular Cabinet

Pair of Art Deco Birds Eye Maple Bedside Cabinets

Art Deco Blonde Bird's-Eye Maple Cocktail Cabinet Dry Bar, English, circa 1930s

1920's Art Deco Birds Eye Maple Wardrobe

Saporiti Bird’s-Eye Maple Highboard by Giovanni Offredi, 1980s

Pair of Italian 19th Century Bird’s-Eye Maple Cabinet Vitrines from Naples

Pair of Art Deco Bedside Cabinets in Birds Eye Maple and Walnut

Antique Pair of Nutwood Nightstands with Bird's-Eye Maple Inlay and Marble Tops

Bird's-Eye Maple and Walnut Art Deco Desk

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 11

Antique Art Deco Bird's-Eye Maple Cocktail Cabinet, circa 1925

About the Item

This is a spectacular antique Art Deco birdseye maple cocktail cabinet attributed to Hille, circa 1925 in date. It is of bow fronted form and made in beautiful birdseye maple, the upper part comprises a pair of doors enclosing a fitted maple and mirrored interior, over a lower part with two doors that open to house the bottles. It is fitted with lights that have been rewired so as to be in working order. There is a mirrored slide that pulls out to serve your drinks. Please note: that the glasses and silver accessories are not included. There is no mistaking the timeless appeal of this highly collectable item. This cocktail bar would be a wonderful addition to your lounge or family room and is sure to get noticed wherever it is placed. Condition: In excellent condition having been beautifully restored in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 169 x Width 139 x Depth 51 Dimensions in inches: Height 5 feet, 6 inches x Width 4 feet, 7 inches x Depth 1 foot, 8 inches The Hille furniture company was started in the East End of London in 1906 by Salamon Hille, a Russian emigrant, to renovate and reproduce eighteenth century furniture. The focus of the business was very much quality rather than large volumes, employing skilled craftsmen and gaining customers such as Hamptons, a well known furniture store, amongst others. By the 1930’s the company had established an international reputation supplying products all over the world. Salamon's daughter, Ray, subsequently joined and worked with the company to produce furniture to original designs. In 1932, Salamon retired and Ray took over the the business with Hille becoming a Limited company that year under her leadership. In 1940 tragedy struck as Salamon Hille died, followed by the destruction of the North London home, factory and stores. The war had already been a challenge with reduced numbers of commissions and a restriction on timber to furniture makers. Under Ray Hille’s leadership Hille were recommended by the curator of the Victoria & Albert Museum to the City Guildhalls to repair bomb damaged furniture, collecting it in a hired van. With new timber being unobtainable, old furniture was sourced and the wood used and re-worked. Old employees came back from the war and in 1945 the business moved to Lea Bridge Road, Leytonstone, and Ray Hille was re-joined by husband Maurice, daughter Rosamind, son-in-law Leslie Julius and then later by Leslie’s army colleague John Collier. Due to the restrictions in the UK, quality furniture could only be made for overseas customers so Hille’s only option was to focus on export markets. Following visits to the US Hille built up a suitable customer base. Export was to become a permanent feature for Hille from then on. In 1950 Hille moved to premises in Hainault but almost immediately the 1951 financial crisis hit resulting in the factory having to move to an old brewery in Watford. The company recovered and in 1961 Hille opened its new offices designed by Hungarian-born modernist architect Ernö Goldfinger who was best known for designing the Elephant and Castle development. 1961 also saw Ray Hille’s second daughter Cherill Scheer joining Hille, adding a new generation to Hille’s management. Her work drove Hille’s marketing, most notably the promotion of the original Polyside chair in 1963, sending out a line drawing of a stork to major government buyers, architects and designers alerting them to the following first samples of the polyside chair with some 600 units then sent out – a marketing campaign which subsequently led to the sale of millions of units in the years that followed. The company is still in operation today. Birdseye Maple occurs primarily in Sugar Maple and is a very hard wood with divergent grain structure caused by the presence of the Birdseyes. In the days when all furniture was made essentially by hand, Birdseye Maple was used by only the most capable cabinetmakers. These artisans had developed the tools and skills to work and finish Birdseye Maple successfully. Antique furniture made out of Birdseye Maple is rare and beautiful. The divergent grain that makes Birdseye Maple beautiful also makes it difficult to work. Early woodworking machines ran at low rpms and had only 2 knives per cutterhead. This often produced Birdseye surfaces that were chipped and torn. It took many hours of hand planing and scraping to get these surfaces to a high sheen. This limited the use of Birdseye maple to projects whose value could justify the extra labour cost. Examples of this are fine furniture and musical instruments. Art Deco or Deco, is an influential visual arts design style which first appeared in France during the 1920s, flourished internationally during the 30s and 40s. It is an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Ageimagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colours, bold geometric shapes, and lavish ornamentation. Deco emerged from the Interwar period when rapid industrialization was transforming culture. One of its major attributes is an embrace of technology. This distinguishes Deco from the organic motifs favored by its predecessor Art Nouveau. Historian Bevis Hillier defined Art Deco as "an assertively modern style...[that] ran to symmetry rather than asymmetry, and to the rectilinear rather than the curvilinear; it responded to the demands of the machine and of new material...[and] the requirements of mass production". During its heyday Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. Our reference: 06489

Dimensions:
Height: 66.54 in (169 cm)Width: 54.73 in (139 cm)Depth: 20.08 in (51 cm)
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1925
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 064891stDibs: LU95063158142