Historic sites add reproduction antiques to gift shop offerings

Tag : antiques

But this beautiful piece of furniture, made from oak and pine, withdecorative red and black applied moldings and wooden turned drawerpulls, is not an antique.
It's a brand new reproduction of a chest made in Plymouth colony inMassachusetts between 1660 and 1700. The artisan who made it, PeterFollansbee, works at Plimoth Plantation, a living historyattraction that depicts the lives of the settlers.
"Peter's work is a real lost art, rediscovered," said PlimothPlantation spokeswoman Jennifer Monac. "He makes about 20 piecesper year, including specialty boxes, chests, chairs, cupboards,etc. Boxes can start at $800 and go from there. Chests start at$5,000 and up."
Follansbee said the chest, one of several pieces of furniture ondisplay just outside the entrance to the gift shop at PlimothPlantation in the Craft Center, took a month to make. To get thedesigns, he said, "I study original pieces in various museums andprivate collections."
Details at 508-746-1622, ext. 8214, or plimoth.org .
A number of other historic attractions and living history sitesalso offer reproduction antiques of interest to both history buffsand antiques lovers.
Virginia's Colonial Williamsburg offers about 40 colonial furniturereproductions in its Williamsburg Reserve Collection, including afour-poster bed with a headboard and ornately carved bedposts thatstand nearly 5 feet tall. Called the Carter's Grove Bed, it isbased on a piece from an 18th century plantation ($6,241). Alsofrom Williamsburg: a late Baroque-style walnut armchair based on a1740s design from Pennsylvania, with a raspberry damask seat andcurved armrests and back, decorated with scallop shells and Scurves (armchair, $1,481, side chair, $1,178).
The pieces are manufactured by various companies. The originals areon display at Colonial Williamsburg's DeWitt Wallace DecorativeArts Museum. Details at williamsburgmarketplace.com .
The Shakers, a religious community that grew in popularity in the19th century, were known for their distinctively simple and sturdycrafts and furniture. Shaker designs can be seen in a number ofmuseums and historic attractions around the country, includingShaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, Ky., the ShakerHistorical Society & Museum in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and adozen other Shaker sites elsewhere in Ohio, Maine, New York, NewHampshire and Massachusetts.
Some of these places sell Shaker-style crafts like oval woodenboxes, trays and brooms. In Massachusetts, Hancock Shaker Villagesells reproductions of several Shaker tables, made by ChiltonFurniture of Maine, that run $450-$650. They include a two-drawersewing table and a table with a hinged top, in cherry or maple.Details at lswstores.com/cat72/Furniture.html .