Object Description
A beautiful antique Victorian burr walnut marquetry inlaid combination writing and card table, circa 1860 in date.
The table has been masterfully crafted from burr walnut with satinwood inlaid marquetry decoration and features a magnificent solid walnut hand-carved stretcher base.
The folding top is fitted with an inset gold tooled bottle green leather writing surface that opens to reveal an interior baize lined for playing cards. The top sits above a pair of useful frieze drawers and the table is raised on turned and fluted end supports and stretcher that terminate in scroll feet carved with acanthus, and fiited with the originbal brass and porcelain castors,.
Add an elegant touch to your home with this stunning combination piece of antique English furniture.
Condition:
In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned polished and releathered in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 76 x Width 98 x Depth 49 – Closed
Height 74 x Width 98 x Depth 98 – Open
Dimensions in inches:
Height 29.9 x Width 38.6 x Depth 19.3 – Closed
Height 29.1 x Width 38.6 x Depth 38.6 – Open
Walnut & Burr Walnut
Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.
Burr walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.
Walnut “burrs” were often used to make fabulous furniture. Veneer sliced from walnut burl is one of the most valuable and highly prized by cabinet makers and prestige car manufacturers and is also a favourite material for shotgun stocks.
Inlay was commonly used in the production of decorative burr walnut furniture, where pieces of coloured veneers are inlaid into the surface of the walnut, adding delicate or intricate patterns and designs. Inlays normally use various exotic veneers, but other materials such as mother-of-pearl, brass or bone were also be used.
Our reference: A1434