Tuesday 30 October 2007

Antique Welsh Cupboards


"...The most usual type of kitchen piece, for both food and utensils, was of full height with a cupboard over a cupboard usually with a row of drawers between, or occasionally over a whole base of drawers, and these often formed distinctly local styles. One of the most recognizable was produced in the extreme north-west; known as a cwpwrdd bara caws (bread and cheese cupboard), this tall and narrow piece was usually in one section and had ventilation panels formed of either fretwork or spindles ... distinctive articles produced, often in the most isolated of areas. Foremost among these was the cwpwrdd tridarn, which has long been recognized as a distinct form. It was apparently confined to a small region, principally in Caernarfonshire, comprising the valleys that run from the centre of Snowdonia and the coastal districts between. A large number survive and since they originated in this restricted area in which there were few mansions, they must originally have stood in the larger farmhouses ..."
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Excerpt above taken from:
"Welsh Furniture 1250 -1950: A Cultural History of Craftsmanship and Design"
By Richard Bebb.
Published by Saer Books