Chiffonier

item details

NameChiffonier

ProductionJosephus Hargreaves; cabinetmaker; circa 1845; New Zealand

Classificationchiffoniers, furniture

Materialsrimu (wood), pine

Materials SummaryKahikatea

DimensionsOverall: 1090mm (width), 1300mm (height), 510mm (depth)

Registration NumberGH009943

Credit linePurchased 2003

Overview

This rimu chiffonier was built by Nelson cabinetmaker Josephus Hargreaves in around 1845. It is more strongly influenced by the earlier Regency style (1811-1837) than the contemporary Victorian (1837-1901), with neo-classical decorative features. Later furniture was marked by the 'curvilinear preferences of Victorian taste' (Cottrell 2006, 47).

Josephus Hargreaves

Hargreaves came to New Zealand with his wife Jane and their eight children in 1842. A cabinetmaker from Leeds, he brought supplies of mahogany with him but was also 'one of the first [in New Zealand] to fell a tree in the Wood and to utilise the timber' (Colonist, 5 September 1888).

Resident in Nelson until his death in 1856, Hargreaves' furniture graced many of the district's grander homes. He also produced many pieces for his own house on Hardy Street, but sadly all except one chest of drawers was destroyed in the 1950s.

References

Cottrell, William. 2006. Furniture of the New Zealand Colonial Era, An Illustrated History 1830-1900. Auckland: Reed.
Northcote-Bade, S. 1971. Colonial Furniture in New Zealand. Wellington: A.H. and A.W. Reed.