French Mahogany Bibliotheque with Marble Top and Brass Gallery

• Gallery - On furniture, a gallery is a small upright section, frequently pierced and decorated, around the tops of small items of furniture, such as davenports, side tables, and so forth. Galleries are made in brass or bronze,and be fretted, pierced or solid timber. A three-quarter gallery is one that surrounds three of the four sides of a table, desk or other top.
• Carrara Marble - Carrara marble is a type of white or blue-grey marble quarried in the Carrara region of Tuscany, Italy. It is prized for its beauty, durability and the ease with which it can be worked. The marble has been used for thousands of years for sculptures and architectural details, and was particularly popular during the Renaissance period. Some of the most famous sculptures in the world, such as Michelangelo's David, were carved from Carrara marble. It is also widely used in the construction of buildings, floors, and countertops, both indoors and outdoors. This marble is known for its unique veining which gives it a distinctive look, and it's a popular choice for interior design, especially bathrooms and kitchens.
• Mahogany - Mahogany is a dense, close grained red-coloured timber from the West Indies and Central America. It was first imported into Europe in the the early 18th century and its use continued through the 19th century. It was popular for furniture making because of its strength, the wide boards available, the distinctive grain on some boards, termed flame mahogany and the rich warm colour of the timber when it was polished.. The "flame" was produced where a limb grew out from the trunk of the tree, and this timber was usually sliced into veneers for feature panels on doors, backs and cornices.
  
  Some terms used to describe mahogany relate to the country from which it originally came, such as "Cuban" mahogany, "Honduras" mahogany etc. However unless the wood has been tested the names assigned are more a selling feature, rather than a true indication of the timber's origin.
• Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
• Pierced Decoration - Ornamental woodwork with part of the background cut through and removed to produce an open-work pattern.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• bibliotheque (French bookcase) 30
• bookcases, function or type - French 227