Transitional Style Bedside Table with Tulipwood and Walnut
click the photo to enlarge
A walnut and tulipwood transitional style bedside table, late 19th century, the table with a slide and three shallow drawers with tulipwood quarter veneer strung panelling to the faces, side and top, a shaped apron and raised on tapering curvaceous legs, with gilt bronze escutcheons and sabots, height 72 cm, width 42 cm, depth 32 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.
- 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. - Escutcheons - An escutcheon is a plate, made of brass, wood, ivory or ebony, which fits into or over the h keyhole, to protect the edge of the timber keyhole from damage by continual insertions of the key. As a general rule you would expect these escutcheons to be sympathetic in design to the handles of the piece. From the early 19th century escutcheons were sometimes made from ivory, ebony, bone or contrasting wood, often cut in a diamond or shield shape and inlaid into the front. Ivory, in particular, will tend to discolour with age, and certainly should not show up as brilliantly white.
- Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.
The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.
It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture. - Apron - A decorative wooden panel that sits underneath the top surface of a table or chair, and unites the top of the piece with the legs, running at right angles to the underside. On carcase furniture such as a chest or wardrobe, the apron sits below the drawers or doors and attaches to the legs.
On carcase furniture without legs the panel under the drawers or doors sits on the floor and is termed a plinth.
An apron can provide a decorative touch to an otherwise unadorned piece of furniture and at the same time provide structural support and strength. They can be carved or pierced and quite elaborate.
Visually similar items
A French Louis XV style walnut bureau de dame, the fall enclosing a stepped interior with small drawers, and a well, below a knee hole flanked small drawers on cabriole legs. 94 cm high, 78 cm wide, 43 cm deep.
Sold by
in
for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
A small early Victorian mahogany side table with three drawers, brass drop handles on cabriole legs. Height 67.5 cm. Width 44 cm. Depth 34 cm
Sold by
in
for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
A continental amboyna and walnut Art Deco sideboard. 90 cm high, 93 cm wide, 40 cm deep.
Sold by
in
for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
A fine pair of French Louis XV style kingwood and floral marquetry single drawer bedside cabinets. 75 cm high, 30 cm wide, 28 cm deep
Sold by
in
for
You can display prices in $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.