A burr walnut veneer occasional table over Birdcage base, 70 x…
click the photo to enlarge
A burr walnut veneer occasional table over Birdcage base, 70 x 104 x 74 cm

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • Burr - Burr (or in the USA, burl) is the timber from the knotted roots or deformed branch of the tree, which when cut, displays the small circular knots in various gradations of colour. It is always cut into a decorative veneer, most commonly seen as burr walnut on 19th century furniture.
  • Veneers - Veneers are thin sheets of well-figured timber that are glued under pressure to the surface of a cheaper timber for decorative effect, and then used in the making of carcase furniture.

    Early veneers were saw-cut so were relatively thick, (up to 2 mm) but is was realised that saw cutting was wasteful, as timber to the equivilent of the thickness of the saw was lot on each cut.

    A more efficient method was devised to slice the timber, either horizontally with a knife, or in a rotary lathe.

    Flame veneer, commonly found in mahogany or cedar furniture, is cut from the junction of the branches and main trunk. So-called fiddleback veneers, where the grain is crossed by a series of pronounced darker lines, is usually cut from the outer sections of the tree trunk.

    During the 17th and 18th centuries, and in much of the walnut marquetry furniture made during the latter part of the 19th century, the veneer was laid in quarters, each of the same grain, so that one half of the surface was the mirror image of the other.

    The use of veneer allows many other decorative effects to be employed, including stringing, feather banding, cross banding, and inlaid decorative panels in the piece. The carcase over which veneer is laid is usually of cheaper timber such as pine, oak or, sometimes in Australia during the first half of the 19th century, red cedar.

    The important thing to remember about veneers is that prior to about 1850 they were cut by hand, and were consequently quite thick - ranging up to about 2mm deep.

    From the mid-19th century veneers were cut by machines and were almost wafer-thin. This is a critical point when trying to judge the approximate age of veneered furniture.

This item has been included into following indexes:

Visually similar items

A Victorian loo table, 74 x 149 x 114 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

A Victorian oval loo table, with satin wood inlay

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

A Victorian walnut cut Down loo table, 19th century, with a fine striking quarter veneer panelled top above a shallow skirt with stringing, a knopped and carved pedestal to four splayed curvaceous legs with leaf carved knees and scrolled feet. Height 55 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

A Victorian walnut inlaid oval loo table over a Birdcage base, 69 x 132 x 96 cm

Sold by in for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.