William IV Rosewood Card Table with Bobbin Turned Borders

• 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.
• Platform Base - Flat-surfaced bases supporting the pedestals of dining tables and some other smaller occasional tables, including console and pier tables. Introduced during the Regency period, they continued in popularity throughout the 19th century. On tables, platform bases are usually of triform, or three-cornered shape, supported by bun, turned or carved claw feet. They may be either of veneered box-like construction, or formed from the solid timber.
• Bobbin Turning - This turning resembles a series of compressed spheres, not unlike a row of beads or bobbins. Commonly associated with Jacobean-style furniture, bobbin turning is also found on a wide variety of small cedar and pine tables and washstands made in Australia during the late 19th century and up to the first world war.
• William Iv - William IV was King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837, and in English furniture design it represented the brief period between the end of the Regency period, and the beginning of the Victorian period.
• 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.
• Baize - Baize is a type of fabric that is made from wool or a wool blend. It is a dense, closely-woven fabric that is smooth to the touch and has a matte finish. Baize is often used for covering surfaces, such as table tops or the playing surface of card, pool and billiard tables, and for lining drawers and boxes, because it is durable and resistant to wear. This fabric is often associated with gambling and is often used on casino gaming tables and other gaming equipment.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• tables, purpose or type
  • chess 248
  • pedestal, side and centre 142
• tables, small, period or style - William IV 68