Thomasville Mystique Chinoiserie Burl Armoire with Brass Drop Pulls
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Thomasville's "mystery and romance of the Far East," in burl and brass
The Thomasville Mystique burl armoire is a tall two-piece case: an upper cabinet with a pair of paneled doors, set on a lower chest with three rows of drawers. Every face is divided into framed panels by applied moldings, the panels are filled with strongly figured burl veneer, and the brass hardware is Chinese in style, with a shaped door plate carrying two drop pulls and Ming-style drawer pulls with a stepped bail. Behind the doors are a deep shelf, two pull-out drawers with scooped hand holds and a built-in electrical outlet, the setup of a cabinet meant to hold a television as well as clothes.
Mystique was Thomasville's Asian-inspired collection. A Thomasville magazine ad from 1981 shows a Mystique dining room with a fretwork-base glass table and a lighted china cabinet under the line "That masterful Thomasville touch with the mystery and romance of the Far East," and says Mystique was "available for bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms." The ad is signed "From the Indoor World of Armstrong," because Armstrong World Industries owned Thomasville from 1968 until it sold the company to Interco in 1995. Listings show the line covered beds with flanking armoires, dressers, nightstands, chests, servers, credenzas, curio and corner cabinets, and fret-back dining chairs.
No Thomasville catalog, price list or company history giving Mystique's first and last years was found, so its run can only be bracketed, and the 1981 ad proves it was in production then. Dealers date Mystique pieces from the 1970s, and a few date chairs and display cabinets to the 1990s, while a Mystique II group in oak parquetry is listed as late 20th century. This copy's photos show no label or stamp, so it can't be pinned to a year, but any Mystique piece falls well before 2006.
Thomasville itself began in 1904 as the Thomasville Chair Company in Thomasville, North Carolina, became Thomasville Furniture Industries after a 1961 merger with B.F. Huntley Furniture, and later passed to Furniture Brands International and Heritage Home Group. Heritage Home Group shut down its remaining Thomasville operations in 2014, and the name is now licensed for home furnishings.
Which Mystique armoire is it?
Mystique armoires share the paneled doors and brass hardware but differ in drawers, veneer and height, so count the drawer pulls and look at the door panels. From this copy and listing photos, checked October 29, 2026.
| Version | Marks | Tells | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tall armoire, burl This copy | None seen in the photos | Burl door and drawer panels; pulls set 2, 1, 2; shelf, two inner drawers, outlet | Not measured |
| Tall armoire, plain veneer | Sold as Thomasville Mystique | Same doors, door plate and 2, 1, 2 pulls, in straight-grain walnut-tone veneer without burl; shelf and two inner drawers | About 80 × 40 × 19 in. |
| Tall armoire, 2, 2, 1 drawers | Sold as Thomasville Mystique | Same case and doors with a solid brass door plate; pulls set 2, 2, 1; plain walnut-tone veneer | About 80 × 40 × 19 in. |
| Shorter armoire, burl | Sold as Thomasville Mystique | Burl doors flanked by narrow burl panels, four drawers, outlet in the cabinet | Shorter, not listed |
| Modular bed armoires | Sold as Mystique campaign style | Narrow armoires that flank a headboard unit, with campaign brass corners | About 78 in. tall, 120 in. wide as a set |
- Count the pulls. This form has two pulls on the top drawer, one centered on the middle drawer and two on the bottom.
- Burl or plain. The same form turns up with burl panels and with plain veneer, so sellers' "pecan burl" and "walnut" can both be right.
- The pulls have numbers. Replacement Mystique drawer pulls are listed with the numbers N13877 and N13878 and the letters KBC, which helps when a pull is missing.
- Look for the stamp. Thomasville usually stamped or labeled the back of a case piece or the inside of a drawer.
Paneled burl doors over three drawer rows, in honey-brown
The armoire is a tall, narrow case in a warm honey to medium brown finish. The upper cabinet's two doors are each built as a large central burl panel inside a grid of smaller framed panels, with a row of short panels across the top and bottom and tall narrow panels running down the outer edges. The burl is swirled and figured, golden in the centers with darker brown waves. Where the doors meet, a brass plate shaped like a rounded rectangle with notched corners frames two small hanging drop pulls.
The lower chest has three drawer rows, each face divided into a long center panel and short end panels by the same applied moldings. Brass Ming-style pulls with a stepped, fret-like bail sit two on the top drawer, one on the middle drawer and two on the bottom drawer. Inside the doors the cabinet is lined in figured veneer, with a deep shelf, two drawers with scooped cut-out hand holds and a black electrical outlet at the back.
- Front, upper: two paneled burl doors with a brass door plate and two drop pulls at the center.
- Front, lower: three paneled drawer rows with five brass pulls, set two, one and two.
- Construction: an upper cabinet sitting on a separate lower chest, with a visible seam between them.
- Inside: one shelf, two drawers with scooped hand holds, an outlet at the back right, figured veneer lining and dark hinges.
- Drawer boxes: light-colored wood sides, as seen in the open lower drawer.
- This copy: finish and veneer look intact, with light wear and a few scratches on the door panels and a faint water or wipe mark on the left door. No label shows in the photos, and it wasn't measured.
That masterful Thomasville touch with the mystery and romance of the Far East. Mystique, available for bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, is just one of the memorable Thomasville looks. Thomasville® FROM THE INDOOR WORLD® OF ArmstrongText of a Thomasville magazine ad for the Mystique line, dated June 1981 by its seller. The ad sets off the middle phrase with dashes, shown here as commas.
- Thomasville Mystique armoire
- Thomasville chinoiserie armoire
- Mystique burl wardrobe
- Thomasville Asian armoire
- Thomasville pecan burl armoire
- Thomasville Mystique TV armoire
No other copies for sale right now
No copy of this burl armoire with pulls set 2, 1, 2 was for sale on October 29, 2026, after searching eBay, Etsy, Chairish, 1stDibs, Kashew and dealer shops. Other Mystique armoires show what the line brings: one with the same case and doors but plain veneer and pulls set 2, 2, 1 asked $475 on eBay for local pickup, a shorter four-drawer burl armoire listed at $995 on Kashew, and a plain-veneer copy sold to be lacquered had sold out at $2,450. These are asking prices, and freight or pickup is extra.
About the Thomasville Mystique armoire
What years was Thomasville Mystique made?
No Thomasville catalog or company record giving the start and end years was found, but a Thomasville magazine ad from 1981 shows Mystique in production for bedrooms, dining rooms and living rooms. Dealers date Mystique pieces from the 1970s into the 1990s, and a later Mystique II group in oak parquetry also exists.
How do I know my armoire is Thomasville Mystique?
Look for the Far East styling the line is known for: doors and drawer fronts divided into framed panels by applied moldings, brass Ming-style pulls with a stepped bail, a brass door plate with two drop pulls, and burl or figured veneer. Then check the back, the drawers and the underside for a Thomasville stamp or label.
What wood is Thomasville Mystique?
Sellers describe Mystique case pieces as pecan with patchwork burl veneer, and some call the burl walnut. Other Mystique pieces are plain walnut-tone wood without burl, and the Mystique II pieces use oak parquetry.
Why is there an outlet inside the armoire?
The upper cabinet was built to hold a television or other electronics on its shelf, so it has a built-in outlet at the back, and a dealer listing for another Mystique armoire also mentions the outlet.
How big is the Thomasville Mystique armoire?
Two dealer listings for Mystique armoires of this form give about 80 inches tall, 40 inches wide and 19 inches deep, though this copy wasn't measured.
What is a Thomasville Mystique armoire worth?
On October 29, 2026, a Mystique armoire of the same form asked $475 for local pickup on eBay, a refinished-to-order copy listed at $2,450 had sold out, and a shorter four-drawer burl Mystique armoire listed at $995. These are asking prices, not sales, and freight or pickup is extra.
- Owner's photos of this copy, closed and open
- eBay: 1981 Thomasville Mystique magazine ad, for the ad text, the rooms the line covered and the Armstrong signature (dated June 1981 by the seller)
- Wikipedia: Thomasville Furniture Industries, for the 1904 founding, the 1961 merger, Armstrong ownership from 1968, the 1995 sale to Interco, Heritage Home Group and the 2014 closure
- Hibiscus House: Thomasville Mystique large armoire, for the same form with the shelf and two inner drawers, three lower drawers and 80 × 40 × 19 inch size
- eBay: Thomasville Mystique armoire, for the sister form with drawers set 2, 2, 1 and its size
- Kashew: Thomasville Mystique armoire, for "solid pecan wood with patchwork burl" and the outlet in the cabinet
- 1stDibs: Thomasville Mystique, for dealer dates from the 1970s to the 1990s, burl walnut pieces and the Mystique II oak parquetry group
- Chairish search for Thomasville Mystique, for 1990s-dated Mystique chairs and other pieces in the line
- eBay search for "thomasville mystique", for the 56 listings, the forms in the line and the N13877 and N13878 KBC replacement pulls
- Chairish: How do you identify vintage Thomasville furniture?, for where Thomasville stamps are usually found