Venetian Handpainted Secretary

This beautiful secretary is just passing through.  Sometimes I find things for clients, but they wind up landing in my living room for a while.

I filled it with goodies to get an idea of how it will look.  I do like the colors in my living room.

So give me some input.  Do you ever put things on an angle in a corner?  I didn't like it against the wall to the right, you really couldn't see much of the secretary. If it were to stay, I would put another chair to the right of the secretary, to make it more useful.

The inside back is painted.  Doesn't this look like a bit of an 80's design to you?   There are elements of the secretary that are definitely 19th century, but there are a few repairs, like the bottoms of the drawers have been replaced.  However it is a great look and was priced well.  Below is a secretary that sold on Liveauctioneers in 2006 for $28,000.  It is quite lovely, the perfect patina.  Wouldn't we all love to own this one!

As I was hunting around, I found a very simliar secretary to mine.   What are the odds?  It says it is a 19th century piece, with similar painting, some variation. It was sold at a Freeman's auction through Liveauctioneers in 2005.

So, more than one 19th century secretary like this exists.   Being the skeptic forever, I think it could be as late as the 20's.   It is still lovely and I will enjoy it as long as it sits in my house!    I think this piece would fall under the category of "antique" - style!