A French Galleried and tiered etagere in fine timbers, circa…
click the photo to enlarge
A French Galleried and tiered etagere in fine timbers, circa 1890, kidney shaped and finely embellished with rosewood, kingwood and satinwood in a fan shaped foliate inlay to both tiers on ebonized, reeded and turned tapering legs. Height 78 cm. Width 46 cm. Depth 35 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.
  • Rosewood - A dense timber that varies in shade to very light brown to almost black. When rosewood is cut and sanded the colour of the timber will turn black, and after polishing and exposure to daylight, the surface will gradually lighten over time to light brown with black streaks.

    The name comes from the odour emanating from the timber when it is planed, sanded or cut.

    Rosewood was very popular for use in Victorian furniture in the second half of the 19th century, and at that time most of the rosewood was imported from Brazil. However it also grows in India and Indonesia.

    It is used in the sold for chairs and table legs, but for carcase furniture such as side cabinets and bookcases, and for table tops it is always used as a veneer.
  • Turning - Any part of a piece of furniture that has been turned and shaped with chisels on a lathe. Turned sections include legs, columns, feet, finials, pedestals, stretchers, spindles etc. There have been many varieties and fashions over the centuries: baluster, melon, barley-sugar, bobbin, cotton-reel, rope-twist, and so on. Split turning implies a turned section that has been cut in half lengthwise and applied to a cabinet front as a false decorative support.
  • Parquetry - Parquetry is inlay laid in geometric patterns, the contrast being achieved by the opposing angles of the grain and veneers. The herringbone pattern is the most commonly used in flooring, but this is almost never seen in furniture - the patterns used are more complex and unlike flooring, can include several different varieties of timber.
  • Foliate - Decorated with leaves or leaf-like forms.
  • Satinwood - Satinwood is a dense pale gold coloured timber that was imported into Britain in the second half of the 18th century, and early 19th centuries from the East Indies and the West Indies. The name derives from the satin-like surface sheen when the timber is polished.

    It was used in the solid, as a veneer and in inlays. As well as furniture, satinwood was used for making musical instruments, barometers, boxes and clocks.

    It will usually be found on only the very best quality objects, presumably because of of its cost at the time.
  • 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.
  • Inlay - Decorative patterns inserted into the main body of a piece of furniture, generally in wood of contrasting colour and grain, though brass, ivory, ebony, shell and sometimes horn have been used. Inlay may consist of a panel of well figured timber inset into a cabinet door front, geometric patterns, or complex and stylized designs of flowers, swags of foliage, fruits and other motifs. As a general rule, in pieces where the carcase is constructed in the solid, the inlay is relatively simple such as stringing, cross banding and herringbone banding. Where more elaborate and decorative work was required veneer was used. Inlay has been fashionable from at least the latter half of the 17th century, when a variety of elaborate forms were developed
  • Reeding - A series of parallel, raised convex mouldings or bands, in section resembling a series of the letter 'm'. The opposite form of fluting, with which it is sometimes combined. Reeding is commonly found on chair legs, either turned or straight, on the arms and backs of chairs and couches and around table edges in the Neoclassical or Classical Revival manner. Reeding was also used as a form of decoration during the Edwardian period, but it is usually much shallower and evidently machine made.
  • Tier - One or more under-shelves of a table or cabinet.

This item has been included into following indexes:

Visually similar items

An inlaid rosewood and gilded bronze etagere, later 19th century. The delightful etagere with a shaped quarter veneer top trimmed with a pierced gallery with a reserved floral spray in blonde timbers, turned and fluted ebonised supports to a conforming und

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

A Victorian burr walnut revolving library table, the circular dished top with satinwood banding, above turned column with revolving book holders on out swept legs.75 cm high, 41 cm wide

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

Two Louis XVI style pedestal tables, each with marble top and gilt metal mounts (2), height 82 cm, 72 cm. Provenance: Private Collection, double Bay, NSW

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

A West Australian jarrah writing table c.1900 with rare kidney shape top and turned spindle stretcher base height 76 cm, top: 106 x 51 cm

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