Late Victorian Amboyna Card Table with Baize Interior

• Amboyna - Amboyna is a tree native to Indonesia (named after the Indonesian island of Ambon) and South East Asia, and when harvested the timber has a fragrant rose-like scent, and is of a rich brown colour, usually harvested from the burl of the tree with "birds-eye" markings . In furniture is is usually veneered and used for decorative effects on top quality pieces.
• Fluting - A form of decoration found on many pieces of furniture, as well as ceramics, silver and clocks, in which round-bottomed grooves, of varying width and depth, are let into columns, pilasters, legs. As a general rule, flutes are cut in the vertical, though they may follow a turned leg in a spiral pattern. In cross-section, they may be described as a series of 'U' shapes, rising and narrowing at each end of the groove. Fluting is the opposite of reeding, with which fluting is often associated.
• 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.
• Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.
  
  The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 ? 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910.
• Ebonised - Timber that has been stained or lacquered black in imitation of ebony. The process has been used since the Renaissance, but is most commonly found in late 19th century furniture, sometimes gilded and turned in imitation of bamboo. Furniture with an ebonised finish is not currently in vogue, and this is reflected in the price for such pieces.
• Column - An architectural feature sometimes used for decorative effect and sometimes as part of the supporting construction. Columns should generally taper slightly towards the top. They may be plain or decorated with carving, fluting or reeding. Columns may be fully rounded or, more commonly, half-rounded and attached with glue, screws or pins to the outer stiles of doors, or the facing uprights on cabinets and bureaux.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• tables, purpose or type - card and games 512