Cedar Cellarette from Mid-19th Century NSW

• Fretwork - Pierced intricate decorative patterns, cut with a fine saw and generally found around the galleries of desk tops, open-hanging shelves and small tables.
  
  In open fret, the timber is completely pierced, giving an appearance of great lightness and delicacy.
  
  With blind fret, as seen in Chinoiserie styles of Chippendale, the fretwork is applied like a moulding to a solid panel.
• Dovetail Joints - At regular intervals in one board, wedge-shaped projections are cut, which fit and are glued into matching recesses cut in the corresponding board opposite, thus forming a 'dovetail' appearance. One of the strongest joints devised for furniture. Found in most drawers and the joints fixing the tops, bottoms and rails at right angles to the side pieces of most cabinets. Before the invention of the dovetail joint, furniture had been held together by metal or wooden dowels or pegs.
• Apron - A decorative wooden panel that sits underneath the top surface of a table or chair, and unites the top of the piece with the legs, running at right angles to the underside. On carcase furniture such as a chest or wardrobe, the apron sits below the drawers or doors and attaches to the legs.
  
  On carcase furniture without legs the panel under the drawers or doors sits on the floor and is termed a plinth.
  
  An apron can provide a decorative touch to an otherwise unadorned piece of furniture and at the same time provide structural support and strength. They can be carved or pierced and quite elaborate.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• cedar - trunks 55
• cellarettes 137