Restored English Mahogany Bookcase, 1890
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.
- Mahogany - Mahogany is a dense, close grained red-coloured timber from the West Indies and Central America. It was first imported into Europe in the the early 18th century and its use continued through the 19th century. It was popular for furniture making because of its strength, the wide boards available, the distinctive grain on some boards, termed flame mahogany and the rich warm colour of the timber when it was polished.. The "flame" was produced where a limb grew out from the trunk of the tree, and this timber was usually sliced into veneers for feature panels on doors, backs and cornices.
Some terms used to describe mahogany relate to the country from which it originally came, such as "Cuban" mahogany, "Honduras" mahogany etc. However unless the wood has been tested the names assigned are more a selling feature, rather than a true indication of the timber's origin. - 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.
Visually similar items
A Victorian mahogany bookcase, circa 1860s, in rich flame mahogany, with a shaped cornice above two glazed doors with applied scrolled embellishments to the top, the extended base with an ogee shaped frieze drawer above two cupboards also with applied scro
An Australian cedar bookcase, c. 1880, in good original untouched condition, 217 x 126 x 45 cm
Late 19th century cedar bookcase, with a raised pediment, above a pair of arched glazed doors, above a lower drawer and pair of doors, of a rectangular pedestal base, 227 cm x 36 cm x 48 cm
The Humphrey Gray Secretaire Bookcase, rare and important Australian Colonial Cedar, Tasmanian origin, circa 1835, 232 cm high, 124 cm wide, 58 cm deep. Provenance: Orginally made for wealthy free settler Humphrey Gray (1784-1868) who emergrated to Van Die