Wow ... that's ornate. It's some sort of "Spanish Colonial Revival" but I'm having a hard time deciding between the 1920s version and the 1960s-90s version.

Can you post a few more things ...

• where did you get this, and from whom?

• measurements - exact ones in inches and centimeters or millimeters

• good picture of the legs

• A closeup of a carved panel and the grain of the wood.

• and a pic the front and sides of a lower drawer showing the way the corner is constructed.

If the carvings are wood (and not resin) then you really have something neat. Not super-valuable, because the market for that style is very small. But certainly somebody would buy it for the decorative value.

Thank you both. Lazy, here are the answers to your questions:

1. I bought at yard sale. The lady had no info on piece but said she bought 20 yrs ago from antique shop for $1200.

2. Measurements:. From very top to bottom:. 191 cm or 75.25 inches; the width of the bookshelves on top: 31 inches or 78.5 cm; desk piece that flips down is 80 cm or 31.5 in in width; width of the bottom drawers is 31.25 in or 79.5 cm.

3. Here are some more pics you wanted. The last one is the bottom of the tiny drawer inside the desk. A few of the pieces have this mark on them. I can't thank you enough for your help!

1920s or 1930s "baronial"or "Spanish Colonial revival" style ... and one of the most ornate ones I've seen.

Nice smaller size, too, which is useful.

WHY do I say this:

it's oak ... later ones were not oak. Mexican furniture is seldom oak, it's usually a coarse grained tropical wood or pine.

The carvings on the panels are not typical of Spanish/Mexican (too curly and smooth, almost Art Nouveau, when in the Spanish/Mexican ones you can see the chisel marks and scoops) and the turned corners of the bureau are almost Early American.

This mash-up of styles is very common in the 1900-1930s when a basic case design would be tarted up with the latest feet and carvings to look fashionable.

The panels appear to be machine carved (a router-like machine cut the design out of a solid panel) because of the way the grain lines continues across them and onto the panel. I don't think they are resin of faux-wood glued on because those are usually smooth and glued onto smoother woods like walnut.

Nice...Jacobean Revival mid 1930's...Oak....may be European, likely German...machine made...
And perhaps it's wormy chestnut rather than oak....

Thank you both. Lazy Gardens I really appreciate you taking the time to respond in such detail. Much appreciated. But what does that "320" carved on the back mean? So many mysteries surrounding antique furniture! (But this is not an antique right?)

The "320" is probably a model number for the manufacturer.

Linda - Why you say German?

I must admit my first thought was 1920s Dutch, because stylistically it is similar to some 1920s Dutch pieces I have. The suggestion of "Spanish Colonial revival" threw me for a loop because I don't see that at all.

I have seen a lot of German pieces of that era and style....and it has the same "feel"....certainly nothing concrete...just a Germanic feel to the furniture...heavy, oak, dark...

The views showing the edges of the drawer front shows that it is made of two layers of wood. The main part of the drawer front is solid wood and has the dove-tailing; The decorative, carved front trim is a thinner board adhered to the drawer front - Interesting. These two pieces may be of different woods or materials. This type of construction would allow the manufacturer to produce several different styles of decoration with no change in the base structure. If all the carved surfaces are thin boards, it could be decorated in any style by choosing the style pieces and bonding those in place.

Sure are a lot of different opinions!! LOL. Is there any way to tell for sure? Thanks everyone!!

Photos can only tell so much, seeing a piece in person is always much better. If you really want to know hire someone to come to your home and see the piece.

I think we are all pretty much in agreement...it's machine made, oak, dating to the first half of the 20th century. The wood is carved oak not resin and attached to the case after the fact....the only point of non agreement is country of origin. Perhaps there is some writing or numbers on a hinge or something that would give a clue.

Thanks Linda!!

From what I can see, and having done this work, the carving was laid in with a router, but finished by hand.

It's better than 75% of the productions from this period.

Everything pictured is oak, exc. the drawer bottoms and sides. Some drawer sides are beech.

Casey