Ornate Rosewood Canterbury with Fretwork and Drawer
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.
- 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. - 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.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
Late Victorian walnut dressing table, with 5 drawers, lift lid compartment and scroll carved front supports, 120 cm wide
A Victorian walnut canterbury, three divided sections with turned supports and scrolled pierced fretwork walls to the top, the drawer with inlaid decoration, raised on turned legs with ceramic casters. 57 cm x 40 cm x 53 cm
Victorian mahogany canterbury, 19th century, having three slatted partitions with carved shell and sea scrolls, above a single drawer, on castors, height 49 cm