Antique Tables: English and French Oak, Mahogany and Walnut Antique Sofa, Gateleg, Writing Tables and Desks

AN OAK “CREDENCE” OR FOLDING TABLE with semi-circular hinged top, the
moulded frieze with a drawer and broad canted corners, the frame raised on four baluster legs joined by a platform stretcher, and with a baluster-shaped gateleg back support, 2ft 7in. high by 3ft. wide (78cm. by 103cm.) circa 1640, reconstructed.

A CHARLES II OAK TABLE with a moulded plank top, the frieze with a drawer and raised on ball-turned legs and stretchers, 2ft. 6in.

A CHARLES II OAK SIDE TABLE with cleated two-plank top, the frieze with a two
panelied drawer veneered in fruitwood on turned baluster legs of exaggerated form joined
by moulded stretchers, 2ft. 4V2in. high by 2ft. wide (72cm. by 90cm.) circa 1675, feet
and cleats restored.

A CHARLES II OVAL OAK GATELEG TABLE,
by a moulded flat stretcher, the gates with simple waved upnghts.

A RARE WILLIAM AND MARY CEDARWOOD TRIANGULAR TABLE, the triangular top
with three flaps with spring supports and opening to form a hexagonal top, raised on three
turned legs joined by similar stretchers, 2ft. 3′/2in. high by 2ft. 21hin. open (69cm. by 67cm.)
circa 1690, tip of one flap missing.

A RARE WILLIAM AND MARY OAK DINING TABLE, four hinged curved fiaps supported on
baluster legs joined by a moulded oval stretcher and massive.

AN OCTAGONAL OAK “CRICKET” TABLE with plank top, the moulded frieze and three
turned legs joined by a triangular shelf and three stretchers, 2ft. 6in. wide (76cm.) late-17th
Century, restored.

A GOOD OAK REFECTORY TABLE
with massive four-plank top and simple shaped walnut end supports
joined by a long bar, 2ft. 5in. high by 8ft. long by 3ft. 3in. wide (74cm. by 273cm. by 99cm.) partly constructed from I8th Century wood.

AN EARLY 18TH CENTURY REFECTORY TABLE in walnut and oak, the four plank
top on piain trestle end supports with piain stretcher and feet, 5ft. Hin. long by 2ft. 8V2in.
deep (180cm. by 82cm.) circa 1720.

A FINE PAIR OF GEORGE I LABURNUMWOOD-VENEERED CONCERT-ACTION CARD
TABLES, each quarter-veneered top with a crossbanding and projecting rounded corners,
the baize-lined interior with counter wells and candie-stands, the conforming frieze raised
on turned legs headed by piain lappets and ending in pad feet, 2ft. Win. wide (86cm.) circa
1720.

A FINE PAIR OF QUEEN ANNE BURR-WALNUT SEMI-ELLIPTICAL GAMES TABLES each
in well figured wood, each top with a moulded edge, a chevron banding and a broad
crossbanding, one with a velvet-lined interior crossbanded in walnut, the other with a
walnut-veneered interior crossbanded in oak, each plain frieze with a small chevron-
banded drawer at each side below a slide and raised on four simple cabriole legs with pad
feet, 2ft. 4in. high by 2ft. 6вОО. wide (71cm. by 77cm.) circa 1710.

A FINE GEORGE III PENWORK-DECORATED PEMBROKE TABLE in the French style,
the serpentine top with a central chinoiserie design of figures with a parasol and a child
within a broad floral border and an outer white border, the frieze with a chinoiserie
design, ivory knobs and a drawer surrounded by fruiting vines, the slender cabriole legs
headed by carved husks and decorated with fruiting vines, with brass castors, 2ft. 6in. long
by 3ft. ‘Ain. open (76cm. by 92cm.) circa 1780.

A FINE GEORGE III OVAL MAHOGANY PEMBROKE TABLE
in the French style, the flame-figured moulded top with a
narrow crossbanding, the bowed frieze with a drawer and raised on slender moulded cabriole legs headed by a fluted trumpet hung with a husk and with circular flowerhead brackets.

A GEORGE III OVAL MAHOGANY AND MARQUETRY URN TABLE, the galleried top
with satinwood banding engraved and stained with entwined leaves enclosing flowerheads
and with a narrow tulipwood outer banding, the frieze with a small slide and raised on
Square tapering legs headed by trailing garrya husks and a circular patera, 2ft. VMn. high
by lft. 2′/2in. wide (65cm. by 37cm.) circa 1780.

A FINE GEORGE II OCTAGONAL MAHOGANY TRIPOD TABLE, the gallery pierced with
Chinese fretwork and each side joining at the corner in a scroll, supported on a leaf-carved
trumpet and three tall inscrolled Supports carved with leaves and ending in bold scrolls,
2ft. 6in. high by lft. 8V4in. wide (76cm. by 51.5cm.) circa 1750.

A LATE 18TH CENTURY CHINESE LACQUER KNEEHOLE DRESSING OR WRITING
TABLE of slightly inverted breakfront form, the moulded top inset with a panel of gilt-
tooled green leather and with a frieze drawer and six short drawers flanking a recess with
three drawers, on bracket feet, decorated throughout with buildings and trees in gilt on
black, 2ft. 73Ain. high by 3ft. 8′Mn. wide (80cm. by 113cm.) late 18th Century, decoration
renewed, later top.

A GEORGE III SMALL MAHOGANY PEMBROKE TABLE, the top with a narrow
crossbanding and rounded corners with a frieze drawer and square tapering legs with
castors, 2ft. 33Ain. open (70.5cm.) circa 1780.

A FINE GEORGE III SATINWOOD MARQUETRY D-SHAPED SIDE TABLE, the top with
a swirling scrollwork hung with chains of flowers and with a giant shell medallion within
a main harewood border of ribbon meandering round seed pods and with two narrow
tulipwood crossbandings, the frieze and four square tapering legs inlaid with chains of
leaves with narrow kingwood crossbanding, 2ft. 7′Ain. high by 4ft. 6lAin. wide (79cm. by
138cm.) circa 1775.

A GOOD GEORGE III MAHOGANY TWO-PEDESTAL DINING TABLE with two extra
leaves, each hinged end with rounded corners and raised on a plain pillar and four canted
reeded sabre legs with plain brass toes and castors, 4ft. wide by lOft. 8in. long fully extended
(122cm. by 325cm.) circa 1800.

A REGENCY JAPANNED PEDESTAL TABLE, the hinged rectangular top with broad
canted corners and a chinoiserie scene in gilt with a woman seated by a table and a
fisherman walking towards a boat, on ebonised obelisk support and concave triangular
base, 2ft. 5′Ain. high by lft. 6in. wide (74cm. by 46cm.) circa 1810.

A REGENCY MAHOGANY FOLDING COACHING TABLE with hinged top and waved X-shaped
supports joined by turned stretchers, 3ft. Van. open (92cm.) circa 1815.

A LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY KNEEHOLE WRITING TABLE
with a central frieze drawer above an arch flanked
to each skie by three drawers and a deep drawer resemble two drawers,
on a plain plinth base, ail the drawers painted (76cm. by 132.5cm.) 1810.

A PAIR OF OVAL TWO-TIER ETAGERE TABLES, each with a gilt-stamped black
leather-lined shelf on four pillars with pineapple finials and brass castors, 2ft. lin. high by
lft. 9lhin. long (63.5cm. by 54.5cm.).

A PAIR OF THREE-TIER ETAGERE TABLES of square shape, veneered in rosewood
and with gilt-brass column corners, with bail finials and castors, square (36cm )
19th Century.

A TWO-TIER ETAGERE TABLE,
each rectangular shelf veneered in rosewood with gilt-brass
border and gilt-brass circular legs and castors, lft. 8in. high by 2ft.

A LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY SMALL TABLE, the top with rounded corners
above two drawers, the lower one panelled to resemble two drawers, on slender ringed
legs with castors, lft. 6′Ain. wide (46.5cm.) circa 1805.

A NEST OF THREE REGENCY ROSEWOOD TABLES, each on a pair of twist-ringed
pillars with downcurved legs joined by a straight stretcher.

AN IVORY-INLAID KINGWOOD-VENEERED TABLE
CABINET, the hinged lid and sides veneered with a brick
design with ivory ‘mortar’, the architectural front with
an arrangement of six short drawers flanking a dummy
drawer and a cupboard enclosing three long drawers,
the whole of the front inlaid with a eut ivory scrollwork,
lft. 5V4In. high by wide (44cm. by 75cm.) mid-
17th Century, probably Spanish.

A DUTCH MARQUETRY CENTRE TABLE, the top
inlaid with an oval set with flower vases flanked by
birds, within burr-walnut and maple crossbanding within
floral spandrels and a floral border above a similarly
inlaid frieze drawer, on square tapering legs ending in
blocks and joined by a concave X-stretcher, on later bun
feet, 2ft. 4lhin. high by 3ft. 7′Mn. wide (73cm. by 110cm.)
late 17th/early 18th Century.

A GILTWOOD SERPENTINE FRONTED CONSOLE TABLE
with a pierced C-scroll and acanthus leaf-carved apron
centred by a shell, on elaborately carved cabriole legs
hung with floral garlands and joined by an asymmetrical
pierced C-scroll and S-scroll stretcher with a grey marble
top, 2ft. 8in. high by 3ft. 9lMn. wide (81cm. by 116cm.)
circa 1750, probably German.

A DUTCH WALNUT MARQUETRY TRIPOD TABLE, the circular
hinged top inlaid with a flower vase within a scrolling garland,
on a ring-turned baluster stem and downcurved cabriole legs, 2ft. 5lhin.
high by 2ft. 4V2in. diam. (75cm. by 72.5cm.) mid-18th Century.

A DUTCH MARQUETRY CARD TABLE, the triangular
baize-lined top and frieze with chevron bandings and
boxwood stringing, with a vase of flowers above a
bearded mask, on four tapering legs with inlaid bands of
lighter wood, 2ft. 4′/2in. high by 4ft. lin. wide (72cm. by
124.5cm.) circa 1790.

A BIEDERMEIER FRUITWOOD SMALL TABLE with a
drawer and square tapering legs, 2ft. high by lft. Hin.
wide (61cm. by 58cm.) circa 1830.

A BIEDERMEIER FRUITWOOD JARDINIERE TABLE
with panelled frieze and square tapering legs, 2ft. wide
(73cm.) circa 1830.

A LATE GEORGE II MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE, with
moulded top and frieze drawer, on square chamfered
legs, 2ft. 4′/2in. high by 3ft. wide (72cm. by 93cm.)
circa 1760.

AN EARLY GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE,
with brass gallery, plain frieze, with square chamfered
legs headed by pierced fluted brackets, 2ft. Hin. high by
6ft. wide (89cm. by 183cm.).

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY TOILET TABLE, with a
rising adjustable mirror and a divided hinged top
enclosing apertures for fitments with a cupboard and
square chamfered legs joined by a concave platform,
lft. 4in. wide (41cm.) circa 1770.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY EXTENDING DINING TABLE,
with a pair of leaves, each D-shaped end raised on four
square tapering legs, 4ft. wide by 8ft. 2in. fully extended
(122cm. by 249cm.) circa 1780, with restoration.

HOLE DESK OR DRESSING TABLE, of triple bow-front
form, the top with reeded edge, three frieze drawers and
each pedestal with a bowed door enclosing tray shelves
on a phnth base, 2ft. 4′Mn. high by 4ft. min. wide (72cm
by 138cm.) circa 1800.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SERPENTINE-TOP CARD TABLE,
on square tapering legs and block feet, 2ft.
high by 2ft. 7in. wide (74.5cm. by 79cm.) circa 1780.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE with semi-
circular top and panelled tapering legs, 2ft. 103Ain. high
by 4ft. 3in. wide (88cm. by 129cm.) circa 1785, the frieze
now containing a drawer.

A REGENCY MAHOGANY TRIPOD TABLE, the
rectangular hinged top on slender ring-turned baluster
stem and reeded downeurved legs ending in bun feet,
2ft. 3′hin. high by 2ft. lin. wide (70cm. by 63cm.)
circa 1805.

A LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY WRITING DESK
with a tambour front enclosing a fitted interior and
writing slide above a pair of frieze drawers on square,
tapering, fluted and stop-fluted legs, 3ft. 5in. high by 3ft.
‘hin. wide (104cm. by 93cm.) circa 1790.

A REGENCY BREAKFAST TABLE, the rectangular hinged top with
reeded edge on a ring-turned baluster stem and reeded sabre
legs ending in brass castors, 2ft. 4in. high by 4ft. wide (71cm. by 150cm.) circa 1820.

A PAIR OF GEORGE III MAHOGANY GAMES TABLES,
the rectangular tops with reeded borders and deep
chamfered corners, the friezes inlaid with stringing and
raised on turned tapering legs, 2ft. 5′hin. high by 2ft.
ll3Ain. (75cm. by 91cm.) circa 1800, one with Upper
section of top replaced.

A FINE GEORGE III MAHOGANY THREE-PEDESTAL
DINING TABLE, each pedestal with a vase-shaped stem
and downcurved legs ending in brass castors, 2ft. 4in.
high by 8ft. Hin. long by 4ft.deep (71cm. by 274cm.
by 136cm.) circa 1800.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY TWO PEDESTAL DINING
TABLE, with rounded square ends on nng-turned
baluster and reeded sabre legs, ending in brass.castors
2ft. 5in. high by 6f, Win. long by
209cm. by 122cm.) circa 1815.

A REGENCY MAHOGANY SOFA TABLE, the top
crossbanded in satinwood and inlaid with boxwood
stringing with two real opposing two dummy drawers,
and with D-shaped flaps, on trestle supports joined by
an arched stretcher, 2ft. 5in. high by 5ft. lin. wide (74cm.
by 155cm.) circa 1805.

A LATE GEORGE III ROSEWOOD SOFA TABLE, with
two frieze drawers in one side, on a ring-turned baluster
stem carved with lotus leaves and down-curved sabre
legs, ending in downcurved feet and castors, the whole
inlaid with brass stringing, 2ft. 4in. high by 5ft. ‘Mn. wide
(71cm. by 153cm.) circa 1815.

A REGENCY MAHOGANY SOFA TABLE, with
D-shaped flaps crossbanded in satinwood, the frieze
with one real and one dummy drawer on lyre-shaped
scrolling supports and sabre legs joined by an arched
stretcher, 2ft. 6in. high by 5ft. o’frin. wide (76cm. by
169cm.) circa 1815.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SOFA TABLE, with
D-shaped flaps and one real and one dummy drawer in
the frieze on trestle supports, joined by a ring-turned
stretcher on moulded sabre legs ending in brass castors,
2ft. 4in. high by 5ft. VMn. wide (71cm. by 156cm.)
circa 1810.

A PAIR OF GEORGE IV MAHOGANY CARD TABLES,
with canted corners and swivelling tops, raised on four
turned pillars, a platform and canted sabre legs, inlaid
throughout with a pale wood stringing, 2ft. Hin. zoide
(89cm.).

A WILLIAM IV ROSEWOOD CENTRE BREAKFAST
TABLE, the circular top with a beaded edge on a triangular
pillar and moulded beaded base and concave platform,
on moulded ball feet, 2ft. in. high by 4ft. 3′/2in.
diameter (72cm. by 130cm.) circa 1830.

A WILLIAM IV ROSEWOOD-VENEERED WORK TABLE,
with rounded corners, frieze drawer above a U-shaped
back support with turned pillar and coneave rectangular
base with bun feet, 2ft. 4in. high by 2ft. Hin. open (71cm.
by 89cm.) circa 1835.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SEMI-CIRCULAR CARD TABLE
with a baize-lined interior, crossbanded in satinwood, on
square tapering legs ending in block feet, 2ft. 5in. high by 3ft.
wide (74cm. by 91.5cm.) circa 1790.

A GEORGE III MAHOGANY SIDE TABLE with
crossbanded top and a hinged flap panelled to resemble
two long drawers, with a curved apron and square
tapering legs ending in spade feet, the whole inlaid with
ebony stringing, 2ft. high by 2ft. 4in. wide (80cm.
by 71cm.) circa 1790.

A GEORGE III PROVINCIAL MAHOGANY DRESSING
TABLE, the rectangular top with adjustable dressing
mirror on ratchet support, with two long and two short
drawers round a kneehole, on square tapering legs and
brass castors, 2ft. lO’hin. high by 2ft. 9′/2in. wide (87cm.
by 85cm.) circa 1800.

A REGENCY MAHOGANY CARD TABLE, the hinged
top crossbanded in rosewood, with a beaded frieze and
spirally ringed baluster stem on a concave platform
stretcher and hipped sabre legs ending in lion-paw
castors, 2ft. 5V2in. high by 3ft.wide (75cm. by 92cm.)
circa 1815.

A GEORGE IV CIRCULAR MAHOGANY TRIPOD TABLE
of George II style, with hinged top, baluster stem and
plain cabriole legs with pointed pad feet, 2ft. 4in. high by 2ft. 6in.
diameter (71cm. by 76cm.) circa 1820.

AN EBONISED PARCEL-GILT REGENCY CHEVERET
TABLE, the superstructure with a brass three-quarters
gallery above a pair of grille-filled doors flanked by lotus-
carved baluster columns, the frieze decorated with an
olive leaf motif centred by a rosette, on ringed tapering
legs joined by a platform stretcher, 3ft. 9in. high by 2ft.
wide (114cm. by 61cm.) circa 1815.

A LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY PEDESTAL PEMBROKE
TABLE, the rectangular top with rounded corners, with
a frieze drawer and central reeded column on four
moulded legs, 2ft. 4in. high by 2ft.wide
(71cm. by 90cm.) circa 1820.

A GEORGE IV MAHOGANY CARD TABLE,
with a hinged swivelling top enclosing a well, supported
on two ring-turned columns and a concave platform with hipped sabre
legs and brass castors, 2ft. 4V2in. high by 2ft. 11in. wide (72cm. by 90.5cm.) circa 1825.

A LATE GEORGE III MAHOGANY BREAKFAST TABLE,
the circular top with turned column and four legs, 2ft. 5in.
high by 4ft. 3in. diameter (74cm. by 130cm.) circa 1815, originally
part of a pedestal dining table.

A WILLIAM IV GILTWOOD SIDE TABLE,
with verde antico marble top and a pair of massive
foliate scroll supports, resting on a rosewood-veneered base with
giltwood egg and dart moulding and a mirrored backboard, 3ft. 3in.
high by 4ft. 8in. wide (99cm. by 142cm.) circa 1830, distressed and gold painted.

A WILLIAM IV ROSEWOOD TRESTLE TABLE, the
rectangular top with rounded corners and inlaid with a
satinwood band, with a drawer in the frieze and simple
trestle Supports, 2ft. high by 2ft. 4in. wide (70cm.
by 71cm.) circa 1830.

A WILLIAM IV ROSEWOOD BREAKFAST TABLE, the
circular top with a gadrooned border, the hexagonal
stem with concave-sided triangular base on gadrooned
feet, 2ft. 5′/2in. high by 4ft. 6in. wide (75cm. by 137cm.)
circa 1835.

A WILLIAM IV MAHOGANY TEA OR GAMES TABLE,
the rectangular hinged top with a beaded edge, on
columnar lotus-leaf carved pedestal and concave
platform stretcher on reeded bun feet, 2ft. high by
3ft. wide (75cm. by 91.5cm.) circa 1830.

A WILLIAM IV MAHOGANY GAMES TABLE, the top
with a central sliding panel enclosing a backgammon well
and reversing to form a chessboard, with two drawers
flanking an arch with a dummy drawer, on piain trestle
supports, 2ft. high by 2ft. Hin. wide (77cm. by
89cm.) circa 1830.

A FLEMISH PARQUETRY SIDE TABLE,
the rectangular top with concentric oyster-veneered
circles in olivewood with hollywood stringing, a drawer
in the frieze and turned legs joined by wavy stretchers, 2ft. 6in. high by 3ft. wide (76cm. by 95cm.)
circa 1700, legs and stretchers replaced.

A GEORGE I WALNUT TABLE, with a moulded mottled pale
apricot-coloured top and rounded corners, the frieze with a
drawer at each end, the turned legs with lappets and pad feet, 2ft.
5in. high by 2ft. 8in. long (74cm. by 81cm.) circa 1725, marble modern.

««  Read More      No Comments »»

DESKS  roll-top
A rather fine oak roll-top desk in which something of Eastlake’s preaching on Gothic reformed furniture has taken effect. Note the panelled sides, the incised line decoration on the drawers and the carved trefoil motif on the slope frame. Undoubtedly intended for use by some professional of ‘reformed’ leanings. c. 1875
An oak roll-top pedestal desk with panelled sides shown open to reveal a generously complex fit-up of pigeon holes, small drawers and letter racks inside. There are four drawers in each pedestal and a pull-out shelf at either side. 1900-1920
An oak roll-top desk similar to the previous example but with a simpler inside fit-up, no foot rail and not panelled at the back. 1900-1920
An oak roll-top desk with a wooden top gallery intended as a bookshelf and fitted with metal drawer handles. The inside has a relatively simple fit-up of two drawers, pigeon holes and ink wells. There is a foot rail and the back is panelled. The piece is on castors. 1900-1920
A half-pedestal oak roll-top desk with metal drawer handles based on the previous model in design.
An oak roll-top desk with ring handles to the drawers. It has a solid frieze around the bottom but is mounted on castors. Quite a complex fit-up to the interior but not as desirable as the example shown in No. 334.
DESKS  Wootton Patent Office (Wells Fargo)
This form has become a category almost to itself, with a ready market in the USA, from which it originates. Usually made in American walnut with figured panels in more desirable versions, but also found in mahogany.
The genre originates from around 1870 and appears in a variety of designs of single- or double-opening typeswith more or less complicated interiors. Really complex large decorative versions are highly sought after and price is affected accordingly. Often referred to, loosely, as a `Wells Fargo’ desk by those fond of watching TV.
A good quality walnut Wootton Patent Office desk of the doubledoored type, shown closed. Note the fielded panels with ebonised moulding, the figured woods and the highly-carved top shelf. There are letter boxes
fitted in the doors so that correspondence can be delivered to the owner while he is away and the piece is locked up. c. 1870
Another Wootton desk, this time shown with the doors open to illustrate the quantity and variety of pigeon holes and drawers in the piece. The writing surface, which conceals more fitments, is shown in the `up’
position, i.e. closed. The top is not carved like the previous example and the wood is mahogany.
Another Wootton desk, this time of the single-opening door type, but with panels and drawers veneered with decorative burr walnut. Although the single-door is not always as convenient as the double-door and tends to off-balance the piece, this version has a complex and attractive interior.
A large double-door version with elaborate interior and carved top similar to 339, shown closed. A handsome piece. c. 1880

««  Read More      No Comments »»

DESKS  Victorian, Edwardian Pedestal
A handsome burr walnut pedestal desk with superstructure including a sloping writing surface, drawers and a turned baluster gallery. A type of desk once rather despised for its superstructure, which was often
removed to convert the piece into a flat-topped pedestal desk of more Georgian appearance. Now, however, the form is coming into its own as a genuine Victorian one with its own usefulness. 1855-1885
A mahogany cylinder bureau with a kneehole. The pedestals each have three drawers and under the sliding tambour there is a writing surface with six small drawers and letter compartments. It is a type illustrated in
several catalogues of the 1870s and 1880s, although the design goes back to earlier George III forms. This is a very plain version. 1870-1890
The Victorian era was a great boom time for the pedestal desk, which was clearly much more popular for a long time than the fall-front or cylinder bureau. Not only for domestic use but also for equipping the thousands of offices which developed throughout the industrial scene, this form was adaptable to several varieties and types of wood. On the whole, oak and mahogany prevailed due to their endurance. Walnut and other woods, apart from pine, tend to be more highly valued for this reason.
The desk was made and reproduced throughout the entire period covered by this book (and still is). Where possible, approximate dates have been shown but some types such as ‘Georgian partners’ or ‘Chippendale’ can be very difficult to date precisely.
A highly decorated Reformed Gothic desk in a style which brings Burges, Seddon, Talbert and Eastlake to mind. Burges and Seddon would go for such lavish decoration; all of them would use the diagonal planking and pillared columns with central collars. It is interesting to compare this version of Gothic with that of ‘Chippendale’ shown in no. 325 in this section. 1860-1870
The designer of this pedestal desk has imbibed more than a little of the spirit of Reformed Gothic  note the panelled sides and slightly ‘revealed’ construction, with shaped feet.
A mahogany pedestal desk of a type made fairly continuously throughout Victoria’s reign and onwards to the present day. There is a tooled leather top, three drawers in the frieze and three drawers in each pedestal.
The moulded edge is a fairly bold type and so is the thumb nail moulding around the base.
A plain mahogany pedestal partners’ desk of large dimensions  three feet by six feet  with drawers in each opposing side, the concept being that the two partners involved could work at the same desk, facing each
other.
1870-1890 but a type made on into the present day
A carved oak pedestal desk with characteristic lion-mask carved handles to the drawers. The late Victorians and Edwardians were fond of carved oak  a taste for the medieval transmitted to them by the work of the
Gothic reformers, who would have hated this piece. 1895-1915
A further version of a carved oak pedestal desk with lion-mask carved handles. The ‘Elizabethan’ effect has been taken a stage further by the inclusion of reeded bulbs on the legs. More carving has been packed on in
foliage form and the top edge is also carved with leaf forms.
A mahogany partners’ pedestal desk on carved serpentine bracket feet in ‘Chippendale’ style. The canted corners are carved with leaf and foliage decoration and the top edge is gadrooned. The top is inset with tooled leather. A straightforward high quality piece which states that it is reproduction from the carved decoration.
A mahogany cylinder bureau or pedestal desk on serpentine feet with a pierced brass gallery rail around the top. The piece is inlaid with marquetry of 18th century inspiration (Adam, Hepplewhite and Sheraton all
spring to mind) including the splendid central vase in an oval panel on the cylinder front and swags, husks, leaf and floral decoration elsewhere. It has been said of other ‘Edwardian Sheraton’ pieces that the craftsmen
of this period had a tendency to over-egg the pudding and this piece is inclined towards an example of this trait. There is just a bit too much decoration, a tendency to flashiness which distinguishes the piece from its
18th century original. A handsome piece, nevertheless, requiring some first class craftmanship to execute.
1890-1910
A mahogany pedestal desk in the early Georgian manner, with clustered columns on the pedestal corners and Gothic blind fret tracery around the frieze. There are three drawers in the frieze on the viewed side, with
three drawers in each pedestal below. The out-of-view side has three drawers in the frieze and cupboards below  an arrangement normally fitted to a ‘Partners’ desk but in fact allowing the desk to be viewed
favourably from both sides. The quality of workmanship and carving is high  note the carved moulded edge to the top and the plinth around the base. 1920-1940
A walnut ‘Queen Anne’ kneehole desk, made as an accurate reproduction of a period piece. The top is quarter veneered and the drawers have a diagonal banding and lip moulding round the edges. The pierced handles
are a little late in design for the period of the desk, but otherwise the proportions and restraint of the veneers are a good copy. 1920-1930
right) A somewhat 1930s interpretation in the use of matched figures walnut veneers on the drawer fronts but without excessive over-figure or burring (’Queen Anne’ versions of pedestal desks, with feather banding,
etc., etc., were not uncommon in the 1930s). The choice of ring handles, however, if original, is odd.
An inlaid mahogany kidney-shaped pedestal desk or writing table in the Sheraton manner, with boxwood inlaid stringing lines and set on square tapering legs ending in brass castors. The top is inset with tooled leather.
The kidney-shaped desk is a perennial favourite and can often be highly decorative, with burr veneers and marquetry adding enormously to value.
A rather spindly cabriole-legged writing table-cum-pedestal desk, half way between either definition, which shows how, in Edwardian times, there was a movement towards versions of the ‘Queen Anne’ style which
heralded the outburst of burrs and cabrioles of the 1920s. In this case the decoration of the drawers is late 18th/early 19th century Sheraton in origin, whereas the legs are somewhat apologetic cabrioles, i.e. a version of an early 18th century style. The piece is in mahogany, which is not a Queen Anne wood. 1900-1910
A high quality mahogany pedestal desk, on square tapering legs, with inlaid boxwood stringing lines. There is a brass gallery rail about four inches high at the back, which has a diamond-pattern fret. By using the
stringing lines to describe panels on the drawer fronts and facings of the frame, the makers have managed to convey the impression of a restrained, quality piece. c.1900
A mahogany half-pedestal desk of Sheraton style with drawers banded in satinwood. The top is inset with tooled leather.
Figured walnut and cabriole legs  a 1920s pedestal desk of considerable quality, showing the onset of the modified Queen Anne styles which became so popular. This is a slightly more modernised approach
than the slavish copies of the style that were prevalent. 1920-1930

««  Read More      No Comments »»

DESKS  davenports
The davenport desk has been associated with the Victorian period for so long that it seems strange to conjecture that its popularity was possibly in decline by the 1880s. The name comes from Gillow’s Cost Books of the 1790s  ‘Captain Davenport, a desk’ written alongside the design. So the davenport was initially a Georgian and, later, a Regency piece of furniture, before the Victorians took it up. The earliest forms are, as expected, squarer, and it was the 1850s that brought about the rococo scrolled, cabriole leg form of front support in place of the pillars that arose in the 1820s and 1830s. Readers of the Price Guide to Antique Furniture will have followed the development of these earlier types.
By 1860 the scrolled supports were slowly disappearing in favour of pillars of debased classical form and, finally, were dropped altogether. There is overlap in all these designs, as the catalogues of Smee, Booth,

Shoolbred and Light show. There were even Reformed Gothic davenports from Richard Charles in 1866. But the period 1860-1890 in general saw a rather stiffer form of davenport, as though the rococo curves of the
1850s had been straightened up in favour of something that did not go back to Georgian severity and cleanliness of line, but which met the demand for a more Louis XVI look and, finally, the vogue for ebonised and spindly-turned ornamentation. Heal’s catalogue of 1884 shows several rather mean examples, not cheap for their time, but stiff, with predictably machined turning or bas relief carving. Not many ebonised examples seem to have survived and by the early 20th century other forms of small desk seem to have supplanted the davenport.
The thing to look for in Davenports is burr walnut  nowadays by far the most popular type of this period  followed by rosewood, walnut, and, far behind, mahogany. Ebonised davenports are an acquired taste.
307 (above) A high quality burr walnut ‘harlequin’ davenport with a ‘piano shaped top with a lid that lifts to reveal a pull-out writing slide. The superstructure has a hinged letter rack operating on a spring mechanism
released by a button inside a short drawer. The piece has inlaid boxwood stringing and stylised flowers. The drawers down the side in view are genuine sliding drawers, whilst on the other side there are four dummy
drawer fronts. This is the normal, and preferred arrangement except for examples where the drawers are contained inside a cupboard door. An example which has all the high-quality features and gadgetry associated with the highly-prized versions. A very similar model is illustrated in Shoolbred, 1876.
1860-1880
An interesting form of burr-walnut davenport of a design shown in catalogues of the 1870s and 1880s but which owes something to the 1860s in its use of veneers and naturalistic fretted carving. The two top upper
doors open to reveal letter compartments and, in some versions, small drawers. There is a frieze drawer which contains a hinged writing slope. A side door in the lower section, panelled with a carved fretted
adornment, opens to reveal four drawers. The piece is inlaid with boxwood stringing and stylised flowers. Not as expensive a form as the piano top but still a highly-prized piece.
1860-1880
A rosewood davenport of the cabriole leg type of front support, using the scrolling rococo form popular in the 1850s. A design which was still made for another twenty years, though it must have been thoroughly out of fashion by the 1880s. The fretted top gallery shows an alternative form to the lidded stationery compartment of protruding type shown in the other examples.
1850-1880
An interesting and unusual oak davenport in Gothic style with clustered column supports. Gothic style davenports were illustrated by Pugin himself in 1835  but a much more Regency, elaborate ‘Gothick’ form  and in the Reformed Gothic manner by Richard Charles in 1866 and C. & R. Light in 1881. The style of this davenport is more of the earlier Victorian unreformed variety but could have been repeated by later makers.
A figured (but not burr) walnut davenport of simple design but a perennial one. The top lid opens to give access to a letter rack; the sloping writing surface lifts to give access to a fitted interior. Four real drawers on one side, four dummy ones on the other. 1870-1890
The end of the line for davenports from a catalogue of c.1910. No pillars, an inlaid ‘Sheraton’ satinwood banding and no decoration to speak of on the cheap stained mahogany, doubtless finished with French polish. C. 1910
An Aesthetic Movement ebonised davenport with characteristic design features  painted panels, this time of birds, panelled construction and rather fussy turning. At the top of the pillars there is a curious Anglo-Japanese bracket just to show that the makers had kept up with Godwin and the latest taste. c. 1880
A really late Victorian form in mahogany with little pretension to elegance and very stiff in execution. The turned columns have lost their way and are not sure what form to take. The base is plain and rigid. A panel has been suggested by applied mouldings. The top retains the features of the earlier davenports, however, and the inherent usefulness of the type. 1885-1900

««  Read More      No Comments »»

DESKS About 1810-1840
Classical period (known at the time as ‘Grecian’): Immigrant craftsmen - notably Lannuier in New York, Bouvier and Quervelle in Philadelphia -introduce French Empire style.
Mahogany secretaire-a-abattant, about 1815.
Desks embody features of the grand Napoleonic manner. Some are flat, leather-topped library tables, others are a new version of the secretary desk with a vertical fall. French influence felt after 1830 (see p. 255).
Honduras mahogany, Brazilian rosewood, gilt bronze mounts.
Columns or pilasters flanking fronts. Classical motifs - anthemion, lyre - figure in ormolu mounts.
All top-quality work veneered in choice woods such as figured mahogany, rosewood, maple - and French polished.
Chippendale, Federal and Empire: Top quality desks expensive, especially anything related stylistically to a name such as Townsend, Adams, Lannuier. Rich decoration attracts rich buyers. Fairly plain, wholly anonymous desks are much more affordable. Best buy is type with vertical fall-front.
Massive forms mounted on flat plinths or low feet of ‘dolphin’ or’paw’ type, in carved wood r case bronze.
Above, flat plinth; left, paw foot.
Above, lyre ormolu mount; right, column mounted in gilt metal.
DESKS About 1840-1890
Right, interior of late-19thC patent ‘Wootton” desk.
Commerce creates an increasing demand for wide variety of office desks.
Office types included a writing-slope on tall legs; the American roll-top and the patent Wootton type; grand types in historic styles for successful businessmen. Hand-made, dual-purpose desks such as the sewing desk continued to be produced by Shakers for themselves and for sale.
Pine for clerks’ desks, oak for roll-tops; walnut or mahogany for Wootton patents; mahogany and rosewood for status symbols; walnut, cherry, maple, butternut, pumpkin pine for Shaker pieces.
Machine-cut dovetails, dowel joints often used in place of mortise-and-tenon. Plywood for drawer-bottoms, late 19thC.
Machine production camouflaged to look hand-made  Renaissance-style turning and carving favoured at mid-century (see p. 191).
Rosewood and kingwood veneers on ‘Louis’ style bureaux plats. Leather or baize insets on writing-surfaces. Varnish, French polishing.
Many good buys among plainer pieces. The more decorative they are, the higher the price. High prices paid for free-standing grand types  to impress the clients. Wootton and roll-top types increasing in value.
19th CENTURY REPRODUCTIONS
The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition (1876) sparked off a craze for reproductions of 18thC American
furniture, slant-top and fall-front desks included, but most over-decorated and out of proportion.
Above left, fine hand-cut dovetails, Widely spaced; above right machine-cut dovetails.
Dowel joint: dowels glued into rail and set into stile.
DESKS About 1840-1890
Right, interior of late-19th century patent ‘Wootton’ desk.
Commerce creates an increasing demand for wide variety of office desks.
Office types included a writing-slope on tall legs; the American roll-top and the patent Wootton type; grand types in historic styles for successful businessmen. Hand-made, dual-purpose desks such as the sewing desk continued to be produced by Shakers for themselves and for sale.
Pine for clerks’ desks, oak for roll-tops; walnut or mahogany for Wootton patents; mahogany and rosewood for status symbols; walnut, cherry, maple, butternut, pumpkin pine for Shaker pieces.
Machine-cut dovetails, dowel joints often used in place of mortise-and-tenon. Plywood for drawer-bottoms, late 19thC.
Machine production camouflaged to look hand-made  Renaissance-style turning and carving favoured at mid-century (see p. 191).
Rosewood and kingwood veneers on ‘Louis’ style bureaux plats. Leather or baize insets on writing-surfaces. Varnish, French polishing.
Many good buys among plainer pieces. The more decorative they are, the higher the price. High prices paid for free-standing grand types  to impress the clients. Wootton and roll-top types increasing in value.
19th CENTURY REPRODUCTIONS
The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition (1876) sparked off a craze for reproductions of 18thC American furniture, slant-top and fall-front desks included, but most over-decorated and out of proportion.
Above left, fine hand-cut dovetails, widely spaced; above right, machine-cut dovetails.

««  Read More      No Comments »»

DESKS About 1620-1680
The Pilgrim period: Desks in the sense of specialized, substantial pieces of furniture are virtually unknown, but a portable writing-slope of the kind used since the Middle Ages is commonplace.
A shallow box about 24 inches wide, 20 inches deep and 12 inches high (60 cm by 51 cm by 30 cm), with sloping lid hinged at the top to a fixed ledge.
Oak, pine, walnut or any other available timber, about 1/2 inch/1.75 cm thick.
Early examples nailed, later ones jointed with coarse dovetails at the corners. Lid attached by wrought-iron strap hinges.
Scroll, arcaded or floral patterns carved or incised. Painted flowers and figures.
If not painted, oiled and waxed.
It is often difficult to distinguish rare American examples from relatively plentiful British ones. Too high a price should not be paid for what is claimed as Americana, without convincing proof. Not outrageously expensive unless elaborately decorated and/or with sound provenance.
DESKS About 1680-1760
As the American colonies become more prosperous, more people became literate and in need of better facilities for writing. Desks as pieces of standing furniture begin to appear in the late 17thC.
Simplified baroque giving way, after 1740, to restrained rococo. Types:
I The desk on a stand with ’slant’ (sloped) fall, hinged at its lower edge to provide a writing-surface on its interior surface, instead of the exterior as in the writing-slope. The stand was separate at first, attached from 1720, with turned legs 1680-1720, cabriole from 1720.
2 The fall-front secretary-desk (from 1700) with vertical fall and drawers below; an example made in 1707 by E. Evans is the earliest known signed piece of Philadelphia furniture.
3 The slant-front desk with drawer below that developed in the early 18thC.
4 The slant-front secretary-desk with bookcase above. Pennsylvania produced this type in William and Mary style, with double dome top, 1700-30.
Before 1750, secretary-desks had wooden panels or mirror glass in the doors. Some have been modified by replacing these with clear glass, thus reducing the interest and commercial value.
Portable wrting slope Queen Anne walnut slant-front desk on stand, about 1760.
Oak, maple, walnut, pine, cherry; after 1730, mahogany from San Domingo and Cuba; after 1750, from Honduras. Secondary woods used for drawer-linings and (after 1720) as foundation for veneers  pine for oak exteriors, oak for mahogany exteriors.
Mortise-and-tenon joints secured with hardwood pegs (see p. 236) on early work and on later country-made pieces. From the early 18thC, fine dovetails for drawers, most other joints (e.g. mortise-and-tenon) concealed in best quality work. Carcases on bracket feet or dwarf cabriole legs; after 1730, claw-and-ball.
Carving on mahogany items, for example, claw-and-ball feet, reached a high standard.
Early-18thC: Burr walnut, maple veneer; japanning on Boston secretary-cabinets.
Enormous range, and age not always the criterion. Starting relatively low for a plain pine slant-front, rising to dizzy heights for a fine mahogany secretary desk. A good 1750 example may be dearer than a poorly-proportioned one of 1720.
DESKS About 1760-1785
Chippendale period: American makers achieve distinctive character and quality. Some work signed or labelled.
Right, Chippendale-style mahogany desk and bookcase, about 1765-1780.
Many plain slant-front desks, but also block-front types with shell decoration, at their best in Newport, Rhode Island, where the interrelated Townsend and Goddard families dominated production. In Boston, Coggswell made secretary desks with bonnet tops and ‘kettle’ (bombs) bases.
Mahogany, maple. Oak and other secondary woods as drawer-linings. Mahogany was used for lining very small drawers only, until late 19thC.
Drawer-fronts shaped to follow ‘block’ outline; ogee curve to bracket feet.
Concave shell motifs carved out of solid convex shells carved separately and applied to surfaces. Exaggerated shells on New Hampshire versions.
Surfaces varnished, sanded and waxed.
Block front types very expensive. Slant fronts, plain design, much cheaper.
Top, pegged construction; above, fine dovetails in drawer construction.
DESKS About 1785-1810
Federal period: Independence having been gained, the return to normal life fostered a desire for new furniture.
Right, secretary bookcase in mahogany, rosewood and maple, about 1810.
In New England, regional types continued. In New York and Philadelphia, Hepplewhite, Shearer and Sheraton designs favoured straight lines, ovals, circles; splay feet and classical pediments.
Mahogany from Honduras, pale yellow satinwood from West Indies.
heur-du-jour (lady’s desk) on tapered legs, with flat writing surface and superstructure of small cupboards. Seymour of Boston made similar type with the superstructure enclosed by tambour front (flexible shutter constructed with narrow fillets of wood glued to a linen backing, running in grooves).
Husks, urns and swags in marquetry.
Drawer-front lowered to form writing-surface.
Right marquetry decoration, about 1790.
The Philadelphia secretary desk had a writing-section disguised as a drawer, with cupboards above and below. The ‘Salem secretary’  a speciality of Nehemiah Adams  has a bookcase above with clear glass doors divided by curved astragals, resting on a base with a pair of cupboards flanking a secretaire drawer over a kneehole. Baltimore produced a bon-
Figured mahogany and satinwood veneers. Polishing with shellac dissolved in spirit (French polish) after 1800.
Wide range and greater quantity offer better choice, but expect to pay for quality and elegance.

««  Read More      No Comments »»

17th Century French, Italian and Spanish Desks about 1630
Byzantine: Desks combining flat surfaces with sloped lecterns fairly commonplace.
Romanesque: The few literate people (mainly monks) used a writing-slope – often a portable box with hinged, slanted lid, but sometimes on a fixed base. A desk dating from about  pieces of furniture designed specifically for writing have taken many different forms, the work-surface sometimes being the most important feature, sometimes little more than a hidden accessory in a prestige piece designed  to proclaim the owner’s power and cultural pretensions.
1200 at Valstena Church, Gotland, Sweden, has a simple sloping lid on a chest-like carcase and with turned corner-posts forming the legs.
Gothic: Writing-slopes sometimes supported on panelled stands with some carved decoration.
Renaissance: In Italy, scholars’ studies were fitted with desks, sometimes flat-topped and free-standing but more often fixtures with sloped tops. A painting in Venice by Carpaccio, about 1502-08, shows St Augustine seated at a table with one end attached to wall, the other on a turned support.
Desk and chair of Romanesque form, probably Swedish, from about 12 South German walnut writing-box inlaid with bone, about 1600.
Craftsmen in Augsburg, southern Germany produce elaborate writing cabinets, e.g. one made for Charles V in 1554 by Strohmeier, with numerous drawers, carved with figures symbolic of literature and history. A less grandiose German type is a free-standing table with a compartment placed below the top. Many tables used as desks in Germany, Low Countries, Scandinavia are based on designs by Vredeman de Vries published about 1588. In that year, Spanish power suffers setback, but rich decoration continues to be lavished
on the vargu&o (writing cabinet) with vertical fall- front serving as a work surface, the interior fitted with many small Spanish iron-bound walnut vargueno grouped around a central cupboard. Related type (papeleira) has drawers for papers but no writing-leaf. Both types have Portuguese equivalents.
Spanish boa.
Mainly local woods for construction. Augsburg craftsmen use great variety for intarsia work. After 1500, Spain and Portugal import ebony, rosewood, mahogany, jacaranda, silver from New World.
Writing-slopes simply constructed, using nails or coarse dovetail joints. Augsburg writing-cabinets finely constructed with mortise-and-tenon, dovetail joints. Spanish vargueno assembled with flush boards forming tops, bottoms and ends, coarsely dovetailed together; drawers crudely made; early stands on
turned legs or shaped supports with wrought-iron stretchers.
Renaissance writing-slopes often carved with strapwork; interior surface of slope in Italian examples sometimes painted naively with religious subjects. Augsburg writing  cabinets inlaid with architectural fantasies.
Drawer-fronts of Spanish varguenos faced with carved ‘Romayne’ heads in boxwood or vory, overlaid with fretted silver, inlaid with abstract patterns with strong Mudjar (Moorish) influence.
Simpler types oiled, waxed or varnished. Carvings on luxurious types often gilded. Exteriors of varguenos sometimes covered with velvet and mounted with wrought-iron.
Very few authentic examples earlier than 16thC appear on open market. Attractive writing-slopes often sell at modest prices. German writing cabinets expensive. Spanish varguenos not really dear considering the wealth of decoration and indeed their decorative value.
The vargueno continued to be made in Renaissance style until 19thC. Later examples should be regarded not so much as fakes or reproductions — more as traditional status symbols.
Louis XIV boulle bureau Mazarin
Table types: Still in late- Renaissance, mannerist style of Vredeman de Vries, brought up to date with richer carved decoration by son’s designs – Versheyden Schrynwerk– published 1630, widely used in northern Europe throughout 17thC. By about 1650, legs developed heavier, baroque turnings, very busy-looking in Portugal. In Holland, from about 1660, writing-tables on spiral legs fitted with one drawer in frieze.
From about 1680, the flat-topped bureau Mazarin– prototype pedestal desk with kneehole – appears in France, well after death in 1661 of Cardinal Mazarin. Made also in Italy, especially Piedmont.
Cabinet types: In Holland from about 1675, medieval form of desk is adapted by moving hinges of slope from top edge to bottom so that it opens out as flat writing-surface supported by lopers (sliding bearers) or, a method soon abandoned, with gates forming part of separate stand with turned legs. About Dutch slope-front bureau.
Northern ltalian bureau cabinet, about 1715.
1700, stand may still be table type (cabriole legs from about 1710), or chest of drawers type, often with cabinet above. In early 18thC bureau-cabinet develops complex features: concave drawer-fronts in Germany; double-dome tops in Holland.
Fall-front secretaire has a flat top above vertical fall, with drawers filling space below. Spanish version – vargueno– continues as obligatory status symbol, but is often mounted on chest of drawers type base which, in many examples now on market, is old but not original.
Favourite wood internationally is walnut, used in solid and veneer forms, with ebony and wide variety of woods for marquetry and banding. Veneers laid on foundation of oak or pine which, together with walnut, chestnut, elm and poplar, according to regional availability, are used for drawer linings. Some Dutch
bureau-cabinets have mirror glass doors, similar to English. Ivory and bone for inlay; brass, pewter and turtleshell for boullework. Brass handles, lockplates; locks fitted with brass screws (see below).
Bureau-Mazarin: Eight scrolled or square, tapered legs, arranged in sets of four, each set joined by X-shaped stretchers, support carcase fitted with three drawers (fronts often slightly bowed) each side, one at centre, and a recessed cupboard in kneehole. In northern Italy, the number of legs is sometimes reduced from eight to six.
Bureau-cabinet: Originally constructed in three separate sections — chest of drawers base supporting sloped desk with two-door cabinet above; about 1700, base and desk are integrated; cabinet always separate.
Desk Fall-front secretaire: Carcase in one piece, lower part fitted with drawers; large writing-leaf, in vertical position when closed, supported on iron stays when open.
Shallow ,map drawer’ in frieze, disguised as moulding.
Secret drawers, when found behind overt ones in interiors, often appear new and unused since the day they were made.
Bureaux-Mazarins: Boullework or floral marquetry in France; inlaid figures in bone or ivory in northern Italy (Turin especially).
Bureaux, bureau-cabinets, secretaires: Some provincial types in solid wood have carved decoration in baroque style, but most are veneered in walnut inlaid with geometric bandings; floral or ’seaweed’ marquetry in Holland, banded in boxwood ornamented with penwork in black ink. Heavy moulding, especially in Germany.
Solid types oiled, varnished or left natural. Veneered types varnished, waxed.
Really fine bureaux- Mazarins and bureaux-cabinets for the seriously rich. Bureaux can be bought at sensible prices. Fall-front secretaires often reasonable because large writing-leaf creates problems in small rooms.
From late-17thC onwards, screws used for fixing locks, hinges. Early screws usually brass, only slightly tapered, with irregular threads filed by hand. Lathe-turned screws with regular thread from about 1750, but still without much taper, and slot across head to receive screwdriver is rarely centred precisely. Sharply tapered, machine-made steel screws with slot usually dead centre not in general use until about 1850.
Left, before 1750; centre. 1750-1850; right, after 1850.
Cabinet base rests on the desk, which sits on the base to form a unit.

««  Read More      No Comments »»

Antique French DESKS About 1770-1800
Louis XVI secretaire-a-abattant in satinwood with marquetry decoration.
Neo-classical, first phase: ‘Louis XVI’ style already established in France by 1771, four years before death of Louis XV. Sinuous shapes replaced by rectilinear carcase for secretaire, straight tapered legs (square or round section) on bureau plat and cylinder-topped desk. Many pieces still highly decorative but trend towards plainer style was marked in the 1780s.
Dubois makes arguably the first bureau plat on tapered legs about 1768; Riesener noted for type of small writing-table with projecting central panel of frieze, also for a lady’s worktable with writing-slide on end supports. Many ebenistes work to instructions from a marchand-mercier (intermediary between maker and customer). After 1789 Revolution, an austere version of the style continues under the Directoire.
Germany adopts rectilinear carcase for bureau-cabinet on turned and tapered legs, but rococo shaping retained in pediment, e.g. one made in Berlin, 1775, by Fiedler for Frederick the Great. Cylinder-top bureau popular 1780-1820 in Mainz.
Vienna produces elegant version of bonheur-du-jour, showing French and English influences; these also evident in Italy where decorative elements of style are emphasized in tall bureau-cabinets, and Spain where neat knee-hole writing-tables have richly ornamented drawer-fronts.
Louis XVI bonheur dujour.
In 1771, Holland prohibits imports of furniture to protect Dutch craftsmen who produce fine fall-front secretaires and writing-tables in neo-classical style. In Sweden, Haupt makes magnificent examples of bureaux plat in Denmark, bureaux and bureau-cabinets with slope fronts are simple in outline but colourfully painted.
Catherine the Great imports numerous desks into Russia, some by Roentgen, which serve as models for simplified versions by craftsmen in St Petersburg and on country estates. In Poland, chunky slope-front bureaux with very wide crossbandings produced in Kolbuszowa (Little Poland).
Mainly as in the previous period but with the important addition of mahogany to the French repertoire.
Mainly as in previous period but with revived use of stretchers to strengthen slim-legged stands for heavy carcases, e.g. in Paris, Weisweiler makes secretaires raised on legs joined by interlaced stretchers.
Marquetry still highly popular (until fashion for plain mahogany desks takes off), but subjects are neo-classical – e.g. in Milan, Maggiolini uses marquetry panels depicting Greek gods and goddesses.
Parquetry – geometric arrangements of small pieces of contrasting veneer – also used in many countries, e.g. for falls of cylinder bureaux by Tenuta, Lisbon, one of few Portuguese cabinetmakers to sign work; signature found in secret drawers, embossed on leather panels.
Neo-classical motifs also used for carved decoration, e.g. urns, swags, Roman busts surmounting secretaires by Bonzanigo, Turin; also for ormolu mounts of very high quality in France and Germany.
Handles and mounts are first feature to be adapted to the change from rococo to neoclassical.
Many small French writing-tables painted with flowered trellis patterns using coloured varnishes (vernis Martin). Danish bureaux painted with formal patterns in bright colours on cool ground. Marquetry brought to very high finish by varnishing, sanding down and waxing; colours of various woods, now mellow, vivid when new and some made more so with stains. What English collectors now prize as ‘patina’ is result of fading, waxing and dirt; less appreciated on Continent where many pieces are re-finished to restore former glory.
Grand pieces understandably expensive but many lesser bureaux and writing-tables of this period can be bought reasonably, e.g. cylinder-top bureaux in plain mahogany of late-Louis XVI or Directoire vintage, or Dutch secretaires decorated with marquetry or lacquer panels.
Although the word ‘ormolu’ derives from French meaning “ground gold”, in France the mounts are described as les bronzes dots or simply les bronzes.
Interlaced stretchers.

««  Read More      No Comments »»

Art Nouveau and Art Deco DESKS About 1890-1940
Belgian art nouveau desk by Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, about 1910.
Art nouveau, 1890-1920: About 1898 van de Velde designs desk with kidney-shaped top mounted on pedestals with drawers and bookshelf extensions. Majorelle’s 1905 writing-tables with dished tops on heavy, semicabriole legs reinterpret rococo. Many commercially manufactured bureau-cabinets are asymmetrical, with shelving on one side of fall.
Modernist, 1920-40: Functional flat-top desks for home and office, including some asymmetrical types – pedestal of drawers on one side only – prototype for typist’s desk.
Built-in fitments often combine writing-surfaces with bookshelves.
Art Deco, 1920-40: Running concurrently with modernist functionalism, Art Deco designers frequently borrow from it – e.g. asymmetrical arrangements of drawers, but for dramatic effect rather than practical convenience. Rich materials lavished on domestic writing-tables and vast office desks for tycoons. Period also offers many unspectacular but satisfying desks of all types, simply designed and well-made.
Art nouveau: Main preferences walnut and mahogany; variety of woods for marquetry.
Modernist: Oak, ash, elm. Glass or leather for tops, tubular steel frames for desks in Le Corbusier’s style.
Art Deco: Mahogany, walnut, figured ebony, fine skins and leathers for tops. Plywood for drawer-bottoms and backs of cheaper products.
Art nouveau: Best examples almost entirely hand-made, though Majorelle uses machinery for shaping complex curves.
Modernist: Ideologically non-traditional, many makers use screws or bolts in place of
mortise-and-tenon joints. Attempts at producing inexpensive furniture often fail because capable machines not yet developed.
Art Deco: Best work, e.g. desks by Ruhlmann of Paris, hand-crafted; flashy types mass-produced by using machines for planing, dovetailing, cutting mortises, but hand-assembled.
Almost by definition, modernism avoids decoration. Good art nouveau and Art Deco use carving, marquetry, inlay in silver and semiprecious stones, ormolu mounts (Majorelle’s speciality). Cheaper art nouveau bureau-cabinets have leaded light glass doors, large bronzed metal hinges.
Art nouveau: Better examples waxed, secondary ones French polished.
Modernist: Often brightly painted.
Art Deco: Better pieces hand-finished, using thin skins (skivers) for writing surfaces. Cheap products sprayed with cellulose; writing-surfaces inset with imitation leather.
Top quality desks, if suitable for executive suites, are disproportionately expensive because they are being paid for out of company funds rather than private money. Best private buys are probably simply designed 1930s desks and bureaux using mostly solid hardwoods.
LEATHER TOPS
Never reject a basically good flat-topped desk because the leather top is shabby. Re-leathering is not unduly expensive, and transforms the appearance.

««  Read More      No Comments »»

DESKS: BONHEURS DU OURS AN CHEVERETS
About 1770-1915
Lion’s mask handles on 19thC pedestal desk.
A satinwood bonheur du jour with simple inlaid decoration.
Handles: Generally very simple brass swan-neck in 18thC, turned wooden knobs in 19th, joined by a variety of metal ring, bail or drop handles around 1870, and horizontal wooden pulls around 1900.
Generally skeleton escutcheons; sometimes surface-mounted in late 19thC.
Stain or varnish followed by wax polish. French polish from about 1820. Dark  almost black  stain on ‘Elizabethan’ oak. Various brown stains and varnishes to simulate mahogany used on cheap quality pine.
Very few genuine 18thC pedestal desks about; those that are fetch enormous sums. Any example pre-dating 1900 invariably in four figures; only the cheapest type of post-1900 examples can be found for less. On
pieces of all dates, any decorative feature  even the use of a wood other than oak or mahogany  may seem to raise the price disproportionately.
Note: Original leather is rare; replacement (if done properly) does not affect value.
Sometimes simply described as writing cabinets on stands, these are small lady’s writing-tables, with a superstructure of drawers, pigeonholes and cupboards. Those with a long bookshelf above
drawers and a lifting handle at the back are called cheverets (sometimes spelt sheverets). Both types were introduced from France (as their name suggests).
Another popular subject for Edwardian reproductions. Manufacture restricted at all times to high quality makers.
The base was a small rectangular-topped table with one, sometimes two, shallow frieze drawer(s), occasionally opening to the side. Narrow, tapering legs (in 18thC tapering on inside edge only), usually ending in spade feet, sometimes with applied ankle mouldings; not infrequently in socket castors. Turned legs not unknown, but rare. Sometimes top folds out to form larger writing-surface, supported on small lopers in frieze, or occasionally on (opened) drawer.
Conformation of superstructure varies considerably. Most pieces bordered by low brass or wood gallery.
Can have tray shelf below, with shaped front to accommodate feet. Sometimes narrow stretchers on back and sides, or of X-plan.
Some burr walnut pieces in so-called ‘Louis’ style with cabriole legs, ormolu mounts etc. made from about 1860.
Principally satinwood; also mahogany and rosewood. Occasionally walnut from 1860 onwards.
Pine or mahogany for carcases (with oak or mahogany for drawer linings). Kingwood, harewood, tulipwood etc. for inlay and for small panels of contrasting veneer.
Standard methods employed.
Many good reproductions about: check drawer construction carefully for indications of date (see CHESTS OF DRAWERS, P. 103). Look particularly for 19thC machine-cut dovetails and quarter mouldings around inside
edges. Being good quality, inner surfaces may be lightly polished.
Principally figuring and arrangement of veneers; often inlay, mostly of stringing lines and simple ovals.
Some pieces painted with neo-classical motifs and/or flowers, wreaths etc. particularly from 1860 onwards. Late decoration tends to be less delicate than previously and covers greater surface area. Panels of classical
figures also popular.
Occasionally Wedgewood plaques or imitation Sevres porcelain panels set in doors.
Handles: Standard for day (for details see page 93).
Principally varnish, sometimes stain, followed by wax polish. French polish after 1820.VALUES
Even 19th/early 20thC reproductions command substantial sums; in fact there isn’t always a lot between them and the originals. Prices well into the thousands. Inlay a bonus.

««  Read More      No Comments »»