Oak Dutch Bookcase Secrétaire with Extensive Carvings

• Oak - Native to Europe and England, oak has been used for joinery, furniture and building since the beginning of the medieval civilisation. It is a pale yellow in colour when freshly cut and darkens with age to a mid brown colour.
  
  Oak as a furniture timber was superceded by walnut in the 17th century, and in the 18th century by mahogany,
  
  Semi-fossilised bog oak is black in colour, and is found in peat bogs where the trees have fallen and been preserved from decay by the bog. It is used for jewellery and small carved trinkets.
  
  Pollard oak is taken from an oak that has been regularly pollarded, that is the upper branches have been removed at the top of the trunk, result that new branches would appear, and over time the top would become ball-like. . When harvested and sawn, the timber displays a continuous surface of knotty circles. The timber was scarce and expensive and was used in more expensive pieces of furniture in the Regency and Victorian periods.
• Bombe Front - More commonly associated with a dome shaped dessert, "bombe" in furniture parlance means "puffed out". In profile the piece is serpentine shaped, narrow at the top, swelling out towards the middle and continuing to the floor, though sometimes it narrowed again at the foot. Drawer fronts are curved in section. Bombe pieces are often highly decorated with marquetry inlay, or veneered and set with brass or ormolu mounts. The most common use of the word, is in the description of the 'bombe commode'.
  
  The bombe design was particularly popular in the 18th century, during the reign of Louis XIV, when it was used to create furniture pieces with a curved, rounded bulging shape. This design was used on furniture in many styles, including Baroque, Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. The bombe chest is one of the most iconic furniture piece featuring this design. They were usually made of precious woods like mahogany, rosewood, and walnut, and feature elaborate inlay, gilded ornaments and ormolu. Other items of furniture where the bombe design can be seen include cabinets, commodes, and desks.
• Fall Front - Furniture with a hinged flap, usually associated with desks and secretaires, that opens or 'falls' to provide a flat writing surface. The flap may be supported by chains or brass quadrants and rest on wooden supports or runners, known as lopers, that pull out from a recess in either side of the piece. The interior of a fall-front desk is usually fitted with small drawers and pigeonholes.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• bookcases, function or type - secretaire 261
• bookcases, material - oak 217