What's it Worth? Appraisal 19th Century Chinese Chippendale Curio Cabinet

Harold asks:

To me, this looks like it is hand carved dragon on the outsides corners. On the bottom it looks like fowlkens or some type of bird. Inside is a bird flying around a tree. the glass is wavy and both sides open up as dose the front.

AW says: (Pics did not make it to the site, but I have inspected this item.) Wow, that's a great hand carved "Chinese Chippendale" cabinet. It's made of Mahogany though, not Ebony. The Chinese showed a great reverence for nature in their art work as your cabinet demonstrates.

Other indicators of quality are the facts that it's heavily carved on 4 corners rather than just on two, the front of the shelves and the back panel is carved. In other words, no detail was spared when crafting this piece.

Date range: Mid to late 1800s

Retail value:

$3,500 to $4,500
(top price)

Wholesale value: $2,500
(The mid range price you could expect to achieve at a well advertised live auction. The price that is most often realized)

Quick sale value: $1,500-$2000
The price your likely to get if you have to sell your item immediately and your prospective customer is aware of this.

Common terminology, nicknames, keywords: Chinese Chippendale, curio cabinet, Mahogany, bass relief, heavy relief, hand carved, dragons, fowl, eagles, mythological.

Care and storage tips: When transporting a piece that has a large pane of glass, I like to put an X of masking tape over the panes to give the glass strength.