Regence Style Book Case with Glazed Panels

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Pierced Decoration - Ornamental woodwork with part of the background cut through and removed to produce an open-work pattern.
• Panels - Timber pieces, usually of well-figured wood either recessed or applied over the frames of doors and as decoration elsewhere in the carcase of cabinet furniture. The panels may take a variety of shapes rectangular, square, shield shape, oval, half-round or in the form of Egyptian pylons.
• Pediment - The uppermost section of a tall usually double-heightened piece of cabinet furniture, surmounting the cornice. The pediment can take a variety of forms derived from the architecture of classical antiquity. A broken pediment is of triangular shape, however, the two raised sides do not meet at the apex but are 'broken' the gap between them often ornamented with an urn or finial. Swan-neck pediments are of similar form, although the uprights are gracefully arched, resembling a swan's neck. They are often found, for example, on longcase clocks.
• Fielded Panel - A recessed panel, where the outer edges have been bevelled or chamfered. The central section of the panel is thus raised or 'fielded'. The field may follow a variety of shapes square, rectangular, rounded or shield shaped. Fielded panels are found on many cabinet doors made over the past several centuries. On some chests, the drawer fronts may also be fielded

This item has been included into following indexes:

• bookcases, function or type - French 227
• sideboards, bookcases and mirrors - Regence style 57