RARE SCOTTISH BROOM WOOD VENEERED CHEST OF DRAWERS, ATTRIBUTED TO GEORGE SANDEMAN OF PERTH MID 18TH

RARE SCOTTISH BROOM WOOD VENEERED CHEST OF DRAWERS, ATTRIBUTED TO GEORGE SANDEMAN OF PERTH MID 18TH CENTURY the top with two panels of long-section broom veneers enclosed by short-section crossbanded borders, above three short and two further short drawers over two further long drawers, all crossbanded with short-section broom veneers, the side panels with long-section veneer, applied to an oak carcass, the drawers lined in original blue sugar paper liners, raised on bracket feetDimensions:126cm wide, 92cm high, 63cm deepNote: Note: This remarkable and rare example of a Scottish chest of drawers is most likely the work of George Sandeman (1724-1803) a Perth based cabinet maker. It is veneered entirely in Scots broom, a wood relatively unheard of outside of Scotland, and highly unusual to be found on such a substantial piece of furniture. The chest’s carcass is made of oak, consistent with known pieces by Sandeman, and the drawers still retain their original blue sugar paper linings, a feature specified in the ‘Edinburgh Cabinet Makers’ Book of Prices’, 1805. The chest’s form with three short drawers above others is also a characteristic typically associated with Scots furniture.Scots broom, or cytisus scoparius, is a deciduous shrub rarely growing beyond three meters in height, with its stems generally being about five centimetres thick. The plant seldom reaches sufficient size to be of much value, but larger specimens were highly valued by cabinet makers for their distinctive veneers. When properly treated, the wood is beautifully grained with high contrast between the heart and sap woods, but because of the limitations in size, it was used primarily for decorative borders and banding. Pieces made entirely from broom are exceptionally rare, as the cost to source and produce a piece would have been extremely highIn 1758-59 George Sandeman was commissioned by the Duke of Atholl to make a suite of furniture for Blair Castle, Perthshire, using timber from the estate. Sandeman’s use of Scots broom was highly unusual, and must have come about at the request of the Duke, as broom is a notoriously challenging wood to use. Sandeman’s suite included a number of tables and a spectacular bureau cabinet, which is still on display in the Derby Dressing Room at Blair Castle. The bureau took five workmen 211 days to make at a cost of £19. 10s. 8d. A visitor to Blair Castle in 1769, Thomas Pennant, recorded seeing the furniture and remarked ‘A chest of drawers of Scotch broom, most elegantly striped, is a singular curiosity’.