Antique Mahogany Tripod Table - Tripod Tea Table - Regency Rosewood Library  Table

The principle role of tripod tables has been as wine or occasional tables for social use. As a piece of furniture a tripod table of small size is decorative and useful in this respect but easilyknocked over and liable to damage. Many of the tripod tables for sale in shops nowadays are marriages of top and base from different origins for this reason. The tripod legs, keyed into the central column, are also easily damaged and the joint split due to an excessive weight being placed on the table. A metal spider is often screwed under the base to reinforce the legs against this.
The original method of securing the top was by two parallel bearers hinged to fit on to the squared top of the stem. Sometimes a gallery or ‘bird cage’ was used and this, being regarded as a mark of quality, tends to
add to price. By placing a weight too near the edge of the table it is possible to damage the top fixingalso and many of these have had to be repaired.
To detect a ‘marriage’ examine the underside of the top for old screw holes or marks of previous bearers. Although successful unions do take place there is usually a loss of proportion and relationship between top and base. Do not be misled, in country versions, by talk of country craftsmen using one wood for the top, another for the stem and another for the legs. Although this may have happened it was not nearly so widespread as the subsequent repairers would have us think.
Value in tripod tables is dictated by the same considerations as those of other furniture; quality of craftsmanship, proportion, colour and choice of wood, polish and patination. Above all , originality is to be prized as much as structural condition.
Regency rosewood library or rent table with octagonal revolving top inset with tooled leather. The inlaid stringing lines are of brass.
Large Regency period dining table of extendable type with leaves which are inserted in the centre section to provide greater seating capacity. A type of table now somewhat reserved for board rooms and public
banqueting halls but which nevertheless follows the development of the earlier Georgian type with two ‘D’ ends between which leaves could be inserted. This table would seat approximately 20 people.
N. B. It is interesting to note that ten years ago such tables were hard to sell and often cut up for the good quality wood of which they were made.
The tripod table is not strictly speaking derived from the candle stand in our illustration above but it is possible to trace the influences derived from it. This stand is of walnut and was made originally for holding a light.
The octagonal top has a moulding round it which is typical of the late 17th and early 18th century walnut period and the twist turned stem represents a high degree of technical accomplishment.
A mahogany tripod of mid-18th century. The top is dished to give the rim around it and the plain column is of pleasing simplicity. The mahogany used is of the heavy Cuban variety, very dark in colour. Note the
development of the height of the legs, becoming bolder.
A mahogany tripod supper-table of c. 1750. The scalloped top is decorated in the centre with leaf carving. This illustration is in fact a reproduction and the centre column turning is not perhaps of as beautiful a design as the top should be supported on.
A walnut stand of the early 18th century. The octagonal top again has the moulded edge of the period and is veneered in figured walnut. The base of the stand is now lifted off the floor by the three curved feet of square section.
A tripod mahogany tea table of c. 1760 with fluted column and scalloped edge carved with shell patterns.
A Chippendale style mahogany tripod table. The top shows the .’pie-crust’ edging which requires a high degree of craftsmanship, since the whole top is made in one piece. The stem is fluted down to the carved bulbous vase and the legs, with shell and pendant decoration on the knee, end in ball and claw feet. Note the scroll on the inside of the knee of the leg. One of the most ornate and decorated examples of this type.
Typical 18th century tripod table in mahogany, probably dating from 1760-80. The legs have now become almost aggressively higher and bolder in curve. The tapering column has the bulbous vase at the base.
Late 18th century tripod table with baluster turned stem and chamfered legs.
Fruitwood tripod table 27″ in diameter. Note the rather abbreviated feet and the.fact that it has been necessary to use several planks to make the top due to the lack of width in fruit-wood trees.
Another tripod mahogany table of 1770-90 date with similar stem, but the legs now flattening in curve slightly. The rounded curves are modified by the chamfered edges and more pointed design.
18th century tripod mahogany table of larger dimensions - the top approx. 2ft. 9in. in diameter. Note the spirally fluted vase at the base of the tapering column stem. Until recently these were more difficult to sell, being too large for occasional or wine table use. Now they are rising in price and being used as tea tables or small dining tables.
18th century yew wood tripod table. The legs are better proportioned than the fruitwood example although they show the steep outer curve of the later period. The top again is several planks, but yew is a wood which
is always more highly valued.
Early 19th century tripod table with rectangular top, of a type expanded in size to produce a breakfast table. This smaller size could be used as a supper table and, being of the tip-up type, was useful in smaller rooms.
The wood is generally mahogany and the legs and stem exhibit the same characteristics as dining tables of the period.
A rather delicate tripod table of c. 1800. The top is octagonal and painted - in line with other furniture of the Sheraton period. Note that the legs are now in a reverse curve from previous styles.
Later 19th century version of the tripod table - the tripod legs have actually vanished and all that remains is the triangular shaped flat base with its three turned feet. The stem is now thoroughly over-
turned with far too many bulbs and vases. Early 19th century country tripod table in mahogany. The legs are in the same reverse type of curve as the previous example, but the stem shows the rather bulbous turning
that heralds the Victorian period.

A Chippendale mahogany card table - A George III satinwood and marquetry card table - A Sheraton period mahogany serpentine fronted side table

A ‘Chippendale’ folding card or tea table in mahogany with reeded square legs, serpentine front and elegantly shaped frieze. Of c. 176070 date. Tables of this kind are always higher in value if of the ‘tea’ type i.e. with
solid wood surface on the interior rather than ‘card’ i.e. with a baize interior.
A Chippendale mahogany card table of c. 1760 with a green baize lined folding top. The edges, frieze and square chamfered legs are fretted inthe Chinese manner, which inexplicably makes this normally rather
underpriced piece of furniture double its value.
N. B. See note under previous example concerning plain mahogany baize lined versions at  and ‘tea’ versions with polished wood interior up to.
A mahogany circular folding table of c. 1790 with Hepplewhite-cumSheraton influence in the design. A type which could be used as a games or tea table, the latter usually being claimed when the inside is not lined with baize but veneered in the manner of the outside. The stringing lines add considerable elegance as do the oval medallions in the panels at the top of each leg.
Value points: Matched figuring of mahogany and stringing
A George III satinwood and marquetry card table with a folding circular top cross banded with rosewood. The inlay consists of urns and flowerfestoons withina meanderingband of anthemionand thefrieze is similarly
inlaid. The square tapering collared legs with the oval medallions at the top are of a kind generally associated with Sheraton designs. These tables were frequently made in pairs.
It would be difficult to find more highlyvalued tables of this period.
Value points: Quality of decoration
N. B. Inferior Edwardian copies abound
A Sheraton period mahogany card table cross banded with satinwood. Note againthe oval medals at the top of the tapering legs and the inlaid stringing lines.
It is to be noted that a pair of identical tables causes the individual piece to be more than doubled. Thus a pair of such tables would be in the 600-700 range.
A George III mahogany dressing table with square legs chamfered at the back. An unpretentious table whose origins are clear from previous illustrations and of a type increasingly popular. The top edge still retains a
moulding derived from the thumb-nail but now more sophisticated with an ogee curve.
A Sheraton period  Satinwood card table cross banded with rosewood. Note the tapering legs and the medal set in the top panel of the leg.
Value points: Satinwood
A Sheraton period mahogany serpentine fronted side table on tapering legs. An elegant design with interesting enlargement of the square section added as ornamentation near the bottom of legs.
A fine mahoganydining table of c. 1800 on turned columns each with three curved legs. The sweep of the latter from the central column out to the brass casters is particularly elegant. On such tables the centre section is generally bolted to the end pieces.
Pembroke tables are said to be named after the Countess of Pembroke, who first gave orders for one of them. It seems that they appeared about 1750 and were generally made in mahogany with square tapering legs.
The flaps on either side are supported by hinged wooden brackets. A drawer is usually to be found opening at one end while a mock drawer is put at the other to give design balance.
The example above is perhapsone of the finest of the fine: in satinwood, with marquetry inlaid, and cross banded with rosewood. It is on square tapering collared legs and the marquetry inlay consists of urns and
naturalistic festoons of flowers.
Price Range: This is a top of the table version;A country mahogany Pembroke table in heavy Cuban wood and with no drawer. The square chamfered legs owe more to the Chippendale influence than the tapering
variety normally associated with this type of table. A simple and pleasing version.
A rather broad mahogany Pembroke table with slightly tapering legs of c. 1790. The solid top is of a particularly finely figured wood and there is abroad boxwood stringing line under the cock-beaded drawer which is continued across the leg.

TABLES  dressing
The most successful form of dressing table seems to have been one with drawers in pedestals on either side. Indeed, the walnut reproduction desk shown in the Desk Section (No. 326) is, in fact, a copy of a kneehole
dressing table of c.1700 (but see the Price Guide to Antique Furniture for all about that). The simpler the design, very often, the more successful it was. Apart from the pedestal type  which has been much converted
into desks  the , lowboy’, with its two deep drawers and one central shallow one, on cabriole legs, is the very other popular form.
The advent of built-in bedroom units has meant the demise of many large pedestal dressing tables but the smaller, prettier ones have survived as whimsical occasional tables, even in the bedroom. These smaller tables tend to be the more highly valued.
A dressing table of a type made by Holland & Co. in satin ash with ebony stringing lines and brass gallery rails above the upper drawers. Perhaps made en suite with the ‘Wellington’ chest 303. A high-quality piece of
furniture in a simple pleasing style. 1850-1880
A dressing table designed by Owen Jones for Eynsham Hall, Oxon, in 1873. In fact, Shoolbred’s catalogue of 1876 shows examples very similar in design. This piece is in a pleasant, light wood and the stringing lines and neat black knobs contribute to an easy formality of design which is wholly missing from much furniture of the period. Unfortunately many dressing tables of this sort have had the top section removed to cater for the enormous trade in pedestal desks. 1870-1880
A rather more ‘Victorian’ mahogany version of the preceding examples, with scrolled carved supports to the shaped mirror. The pedestals are bow-fronted and the descent from simple clean lines to something less
tasteful is clearly illustrated. 1850-1880
Down further we go, into semi-rococo ugliness. The oval mirror is all right but the rest is fairly unpleasant and extremely wasteful of space. Apart from the central drawer the frieze is totally unused and probably ‘false’ while as for the legs and bottom shelf … !
An oak dressing table and mirror to match with revealed construction in the manner approved by the Gothic reformers. The arcaded painted decoration is in keeping.
A painted dressing table which has borrowed something from the art furniture brigade in its design and perhaps something from Regency ‘bamboo’.
An inlaid mahogany dressing table in the Sheraton manner, owing something to the Carlton House writing table in the curving design of the centre section which leads, in the upper storey, to two drawers. The inlays
incorporate shell and swag motifs.
An inlaid mahogany kidney-shaped dressing table in the `Sheraton’ manner, depending on a late 18th or early 19th century original design but somewhat over-decorated by the Edwardians. c.1900
A walnut ‘Queen Anne’ dressing table of a type known as a lowboy. One of the most popular and pretty pieces from the walnut period of 1710-1730 and much reproduced. See the Price Guide to Antique Furniture for several original examples. c.1925
A Liberty’s dressing table in the ‘art nouveau’ style in its more straight-line English variety. Usually made en suite with an accompanying washstand (see 608). C. 1900
A mahogany dressing table of ,art nouveau’ design with inlaid decoration and square tapering legs ending in round feet. C. 1900
Another walnut dressing table of `Queen Anne’ style but which is immediately apparent as a reproduction version, not true to original proportions, from the long cabriole legs. The previous example is much more true to the original.
A ‘William and Mary’ style dressing table, so termed because of the inverted-cup turning, bun feet and shaped stretcher of the base. Not the correct proportions for a period piece. c. 1925
One of Maurice Adams ‘original’ designs, successful commercially in the 1920s and 1930s, based on ‘Queen Anne’ styles. This example is in figured walnut but mahogany versions were also available. An entirely
post-1920 interpretation of Queen Anne and quite identifiably 20th century. c.1925
A veneered walnut dressing table, with wardrobe-chest to match, on cabriole legs with shell carving to the knees. Anyone seeking to comprehend why 20th century burr walnut furniture is so far in appearance from the early 18th century pieces it vaguely emulates should look at the sheer fussiness of the figure in these veneers and the confusion it generates even when laid in matched symmetrical sheets. 1920-1940
Lacquered versions of ‘Queen Anne’ (right) and ‘William and Mary’ (left) dressing tables. There was a revival in lacquer furniture (often on a blue ground, but also red and black) in the 1920s which now has a market in
the interior decoration business.
A walnut veneered dressing table and wardrobe with drawer above. Very much post-1918 in design, with solid pedestal bases emphasised by dark applied mouldings, no separate feet, square unembellished edges and solid square ebonised wooden handles. The central drawer of the dressing table has been replaced by a glass shelf. Quite what the drawer above the wardrobe was used for is not certain  Something the Children Must Not Find, perhaps 1920-1940

TABLES  side, lowboys (mainly cabriole leg)
Largely ignored in standard textbooks concerned with the development of furniture design is a delightful little group of tables which ranges from finely made town examples down (or should it be up) to enchanting small country fruitwood or yew pieces; these are eagerly sought after but are often impossible to prize from the hands of dealers in country furniture. We have reserved the term lowboys for three or four drawered side
tables often intended as dressing tables or for occasional use. As mentioned earlier, the dividing line between these and single drawer tables is often difficult to decipher. So we have produced this arbitrary distinction for the sake of convenience. On the question of fakes and improvements in general, little is done to these pieces. Some are veneered up which usually means walnut veneered top with oak legs or some other nonsense. However, when checking the underside note age on the bottom of the fretted front. It is not unknown for a large deep walnut veneered drawer front from an old bottom half of a tallboy to do service as a new front.
Rather more flashily veneered in high quality figured walnut. The cabriole legs are scrolled at the top and end in pointed feet. The form of drawers shows a variant, with a single long top drawer and two smaller ones
set beneath. The drawer edges are cock-beaded and there is an inlaid herring-bone line rather than crossbanding. The top is also quartered. c.1730
A solid walnut example with inlaid boxwood and ebony stringing lines. Note how a slight lip extends from one foot up the inside leg along the bottom of the carcase and down to the other foot as if emphasising the clean outline of the design. The cabriole legs are with shells and the feet show very interesting carved ‘folds’.
An attractive solid walnut example with good cabrioles all round, ovolo moulded drawer fronts and double half-round corners to the top (babies’ bottoms).
The bold brass handles are period if not original. As this a very good colour it is a desirable piece.
An example of the glorious individuality that British country furniture can provide and certainly one of the very few pieces of humorous furniture which exist. How else can one describe these legs but as `cobra cabrioles’ Apart from these extraordinary aberrations the piece has not too much in its favour. The arrangement of drawers makes it almost a writing table. c. 1730
A little cherrywood example. Note the same simple quarter-round moulding but ordinary corners. The drawer arrangement is unexciting and the cabrioles only just curve, nevertheless a pleasant country piece with glorious colour. Note the typical early decoration on the middle of the bottom rail. c.1740
The same top with half-round corners and tight quarter-round moulding of the period. This example is in oak and the cabrioles provide a problem; some collectors will find them attractive, others including this writer, will feel that they are poor-looking as though they have supported one of those large Chinese urns which weigh several hundredweights. Hence the wide price range.

TABLES  Sutherland
The Sutherland table is a 19th Century English Victorian form of gateleg table with a particularly narrow centre section. It has the virtue that when the flaps are down the piece fits into a very small space. It is thus a useful occasional table. The earliest designs are by W. Smee & Son, from 1850 with the typical twin column ending. The single stem is first shown in 1864 and an example is illustrated left.
The heavy rounded bun turned in the end column and the markedly carved feet pronounce a relatively early date. A good solid piece and not, by Victorian standards, very fussy. Booth shows a less solid but similar
example in 1864. c. 1865
Nowadays this would be a veneer merchant’s waiting room table, but to the Victorians the use of segments of exotic stained woods was just another way of making impressive furniture.    The fluting, thin line
decoration and beading suggest the date.
Square flaps are less common and the design books show several for the 1880s. This design of foot appears at that time. Spirals are shown for the late 1870s. Those here are well turned and the general quality of the
piece is high. But why make a different turning for the gates Economy c. 1880
Another late example. Black and lots of turning for the sake of it without any idea of creating an overall design. Black is so unpopular that the best thing to do is to pop it in the stripper caustic tank.

TABLES  writing and library, late 18th and 19th century
The long writing tables, often referred to as library tables, of the late Georgian, Regency and Victorian period have a marked design similarity to sofa tables of the early part of the period, except that they do not have
end flaps. Perhaps designers produced one drawing which the retailer was happy to produce with or without flaps.
Shows a Sheraton style table in figured mahogany with rosewood crossbanding on end supports that are, clearly, late Georgian in design. There are drawers in the frieze, with false drawers at the ends, indicating that this really was designed as a centre table, to be viewed from both sides and ends.
A rosewood table with end supports of similar construction to the previous example except that scrolls have been included in the design, both at the bottom and the top of the support. The turned stretcher is, perhaps,
decoratively intended. c. 1810
A Regency rosewood example in which the legs sweep from the top to the floor. They are supported by a curved arch very similar to the first example. Metal decorations. c. 1830
A very similar design to the previous example except that here rosewood cross-members are used in place of metal and of course it lacks drawers and so is simply a centre table. Note that the mouldings of these last
three examples are simply cross-grain veneers, slightly rounded.
Fussy it may be, but the parquetry top in exotic woods with bold corner finials goes well with the equally bold fretted base and stretcher to make a good solid ornate writing table. Rather hard to date with assurance
because, looking through the Pictorial Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Furniture Design, one sees that the variations were being offered in the 1840-1860 period.
The hairy feet are a couple of sizes too big, and heavy lyre ends are complete with brass strings with (appropriately enough) knobs on. All that to support a pedestrian two drawer top which can only manage some effete bead moulding with miniscule ‘drops’ at the corners.
Again in mahogany and a contrast to the previous example. The restraint in the design is obvious but one can clearly see the decoration gaining in importance. Typical of a whole group of stretcherless tables using
designs of the period.
A bobbin turned version of a type more often seen in the design books as spiral turned. It produces decoration for less original cost than the previous example. c. 1840
An octagonal library table in faded mahogany with four well-moulded legs. A good example of this popular type.

TABLES  sofa, vertical supports and stretchers
The sofa table is a variation which was evolved from the Pembroke table and gets its name from its intended application, namely, to stand against a sofa. It is therefore long and thin with flaps at the end, whereas the Pembroke is squarer in shape, and so popular did it become that it gradually superseded the Pembroke. Although considered a typical piece of Regency furniture, the sofa table did in fact become popular at the end of the eighteenth century.
There are two distinct types, first those supported each end by a vertical member  or end standard as it is called  in a variety of forms and secondly, those with a central pillared support standing on a flat base which in turn rests on feet. The pillared support can of course vary considerably.
A high quality mahogany table, with satinwood cross-banding and satinwood veneered legs and cross-stretchers. The legs sweep out naturally from the end standards. There are false drawer fronts on the far side. The piece shows the late-Georgian restraint one associates with pre-Regency designs.
c. 1790The early Regency has set in, but with equivalent quality and restraint in design. The piece is veneered in rosewood and the flap supports are carved with Egyptian heads and wings a la Thomas Hope of 1820  the heads being fixtures. The legs still sweep elegantly out of the end standards but the feet make a vertical ’stop’ in the curve not seen in 864. c. 1800
The high leg of the Regency is seen clearly in this fine satinwood veneered piece which is cross-banded in rosewood. The classical motifs are inset in ebony and it is very good quality. Satinwood obviously helps the price, as does good grain arrangement. c. 1810
A satinwood veneered attempt which is somewhat less successful than the first two examples. The end standard is wider, making the feet look small. The veneer runs in fairly strong straight figures across the top and the legs in a way which conflicts with the striped ebony and boxwood stringing lines on all the surface edges.
The variations in end standards can be considerable. This form, the lyre, is seen on a mahogany table which is otherwise a fairly plain piece. The main alternative form of lyre is a reversal of the form shown here. With a brass strip, this, if genuine, helps the price considerably. There is an ominous line towards the right-hand side of the near flap. If this is indeed a patch, take 20% off the price. c. 1820
A plainer form of the previous example with simple reeded end standards terminating in carved paw feet. The sole decoration is the light coloured stringing line. c.1825
For convenience we have sub-divided vertically supported sofa tables into a). the earlier types, mostly without stretchers, shown on these pages, and b). those with stretchers, generally later or not always such good examples (see next section).
A fairly typical (if there is such a thing) Regency reeded leg support. The dramatic wedge-shaped end standards meet in a large circular centre section, with turned decoration, which looks like an oversize draught.
An example veneered and cross-banded with mahogany. There are lengths of plain gadrooning attached to the bottom of the frieze and around the leg supports; this and the rather aimlessly turned pillars would suggest a later date, while the solid legs with the inset line an earlier one. It has the same strange arch support as 867. c. 1830
Not a conventional sofa table but it relates to the next piece so well that, logically, it falls in here. This table is breathtaking: superbly light in appearance, the reeded, tapered cross-shaped supports are perfectly executed. Compare the reeding on the legs of 758. The use of gilt and ebonised decoration is restrained and the more effective, for one’s eye is drawn to the carved bandage by which the middle stretcher appears to be tied at the ends. It relates to a known type. c. 1800
A further crash down on the quality scale and yet still a good sofa table. The design is successful if a trifle thick on the moulded legs which terminate in attractive unusual castors.
The melons () which support the table are attractive as is the leaf carving beneath them. The top with reeded edges is in plain mahogany. c. 1830
Next come sofa tables with end standards and stretchers. These can be sub-divided, as can be seen below, into those with cross-stretchers and those with double pillars. One of those sections in which quality varies dramatically. Condition, too, is important. Patches on the top affect prices dramatically.
A finely figured mahogany example in which mid-Regency classical motifs are used lightly. It has good, small, inturned paw feet  a device which surprisingly enough works, and lion head handles. The cross-shaped curving supports, beautifully reeded with stretcher to match, shows Thomas Hope’s influence at its most felicitous. c. 1805
Double pillar rosewood, turned to give a slight bamboo effect. It is in rosewood with metal mounts both on the edge of the legs, between the pillars and on the fronts. The top is selected veneers cross-banded with satinwood and ebony stringing lines between them. c. 1810
A very pleasant spirally turned mahogany example. Brass inlay on the leg and a simple satinwood stringing line around the top and drawer fronts. Simple round edges to the table top. c. 1820
A faded mahogany table with ebony stringing line in the square classical form and banding used as the principal inlays to contrast with the satinwood edging to the table top. The stretcher has a restrained turning, while the pillars show later turning.
The heavy gadrooning on this plain mahogany table suggests a later than normal date. The turned stretcher is not very inspiring. c. 1830
A small mahogany sofa table of simple form. The maker was none too happy about getting the legs on to the pillar. They look what they are, two curves dowelled and stuck on to a rectangular piece of wood which in turn is built up like a Lego set into the top. Even the stringing line is a bit mean. c. 1830

DRESSING TABLES
Georgian enclosed mahogany on tapering fluted legs with a slide. 1760-1780
Mahogany, shown open with mirror resting on the rack. A fairly simple piece with none too elegant legs. 1760-1780
A mahogany dressing table of Chippendale style, with fretted brackets, slide and tray beneath. 1750-1700
An interesting enclosed dressing table/chest with concave tambour doors and drawers beneath. 1780-1800
A very fine harlequin dressing and writing table in fiddle figured mahogany cross-banded in tulipwood. The back section pushes down against a spring. A tambour concave cupboard beneath, tapered legs and original small leather castors. 1780-1800
more if it can be attributed to a known designer
A fine mahogany dressing table of enclosed type, shown open and closed, with cupboard below and a crossed flat stretcher with rimmed chamber platform. 1790-1810
A painted satinwood dressing table/chest, with Adam-style neo-classical decoration. This type of decoration was much copied in Edwardian furniture. 1780-1800
An interesting mahogany dressing table shown closed and open with hinged top which lifts to reveal its fitments. The oval handles are a replacement. 1790-1810
Late eighteenth century Sheraton type dressing table with the usual fittings. Decorated with shells and using stringing lines to vary the veneered decoration.
Early 19th century
A walnut kneehole of high quality on replacement bracket feet. The pillars in the recessed corners are fluted and the top is quarter veneered and cross-banded. The drawers have a simple, straight crossbanding, with a lip edge moulding. North country with new heavy feet with canted corner decorated with a blind fret. There is a slide under the top and the piece has single serpentine bracket feet. The three previous examples all have ‘double’ bracket feet, i.e. a foot under each front corner both forms are found in this period. 1740-1760

DRESSING TABLES  kneehole
A simpler walnut kneehole with herring-bone banding to the drawers. The top is quartered and cross-banded. Note that the shaped section over the kneehole space is, in fact, another drawer. Original handles. 1720-1740.
A solid yew wood kneehole with lip-moulded drawers. A fairly simple piece which will depend largely for its value on the colour and patination. A faded nut brown colour being much more valuable than a reddish tinge. Hence the wide price range.
Another mahogany kneehole, with fluted canted corners and a slide. Original handles. The photograph and lack of polish do not do it justice. Price assumes a deep rich colour. 1740-1760
There seems little doubt that this piece of furniture was evolved for bedroom or dressing room use; it has subsequently been found extremely useful as a desk. People did write in their bedrooms, of course, and we happily illustrate, in the mahogany examples, a piece fitted with both mirror accoutrements and writing paraphernalia. This is just to show that we are not prepared to be didactic; the concensus is that this is, generally speaking, an ‘upstairs’ piece, but there is no reason why it should not have been found useful downstairs as well.
Value Points: as for Chests, also if centre section pulls forwards
Here we are  an unusual but genuine fit-up under a hinged top and a false front top drawer. This mahogany piece is fitted both for dressing and titivation purposes as well as with ink-holding drawer and letter/ envelope rack inside. The drawers are cock-beaded. 1740-1760
A high quality veneered mahogany kneehole with slightly serpentine front, canted fluted corners and fluted central arch.
A solid mahogany serpentine-front kneehole on ogee bracket feet. Note that the foot has an extra facet to match the squared corner. There are in fact three main shapes of ogee feet, the most simple curves out where it meets the floor, the second is squared off just at that point but this one, the best type, has a more pronounced curve over the foot as well as the squaring off where it meets the floor.
An American block-front mahogany kneehole with characteristic ’shell’ carving over the central door. 1750-1770
A very decoratively veneered mahogany serpentine-front kneehole. One often sees early 20th century reproductions made broadly to this design. 1860-1880
An unusual oak kneehole fitted with a secretaire drawer (see below)  clearly a ‘writing’ piece. c.1750
A simple but very pleasant solid mahogany kneehole on bracket feet, with cock-beaded drawers.
A late nineteenth century mahogany kneehole in the Sheraton manner, with quarter-fan inlaid satinwood decoration in the corners of the door. There is also a slide.
A late nineteenth century carved kneehole desk in mahogany with a gadrooned edge to the top. 1890-1920

TABLES  night, and chamber pot holders
A Georgian mahogany night table of serpentine front with a good shaped tray top with hand holes for carrying. 1750-1770
A mahogany antique night table with matched figured veneers. Very typical of the type which have split front legs to give support when the lower half is pulled forward for use. 1760-1780
In the second half of the eighteenth century the night table was of quite sophisticated design and was included in Chippendale, Ince and Mayhew, and Sheraton’s repertoire. Variously disguised as a small chest of drawers or in a more distinct tray-top form, these pieces display considerable ingenuity of craftsmanship. Later on the chest form was still used though the more obvious pot holder also made its appearance. As they are now technically obsolete, they have been adapted to a variety of modern uses according to the shape  drink cupboards, and hi-fi units for instance. If this has been done intelligently and the visible surfaces (when closed) have not been damaged, the value is enhanced rather than diminished  an almost unique situation in the antique furniture world.
A good quality mahogany night table with tambour shutter which slides horizontally across the front, and tray top with handles fretted into the rim. The tambour shutter, when opened, slides round the inside edge of the cupboard space. The pot holding drawer front has been simulated to look like two cock-beaded and veneered drawers. Often these have been fitted with linings and made to work. 1780-1800
A simple night table with fretted handles, cupboard and crossed flat stretcher with rimmed pot platform. A good construction. 1760
A step ladder type pot holder of Sheraton design in mahogany with ebony inlaid stringing lines. Adapts well to mini cellar. 1810-1830