What timber are most of these made from?

Mahogany and walnut run almost neck and neck across the titles, 157 against 149, with oak third at 60. Beyond those three, satinwood, rosewood, kingwood, amboyna, elm, mulberry, birch, tulipwood, sabicu, pine and Brazilian rosewood each appear in single figures.

How old are bureau cabinets on Sellingantiques?

The dealer-entered date field spans 1700 to 1930, and 177 listings carry a clean year. One sampled piece is filed simply as before 1700. The 18th century is the largest single bucket at 104 listings, with 64 in the 19th and 14 in the 17th. Decade labels such as 1900s, 1800s, 1920s and 1860s account for a good many of the rest.

Why do so few carry a maker's name?

Only one name clears three dealers across the whole archive, at four. The category is sold by period, timber and form rather than by attribution. Where a name does appear, it comes as a stamp, a label, or an attribution in the dealer's wording.

Are French and Continental examples common?

French pieces account for 51 titles and Dutch for 16, with Dutch marquetry a recurring pairing. The wider Continental tail is unusually broad for an English-dominated category. Italian, Venetian, Biedermeier, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, South German, Portuguese and Viennese examples all turn up, as do Irish, Welsh, Anglo-Indian and Chinese Canton pieces.

How does a bonheur du jour differ?

It's the small ladies' form: a writing table with a raised superstructure of little drawers rather than a full bureau slope over a chest. Thirty-four titles use the term, and ormolu mounts, porcelain plaques and satinwood come with it often. Pairs of them have appeared, and those sat at the very top of the range.

Do miniature and child's sizes come up?

They form a small recurring thread. Apprentice, miniature and child's pieces appear across the archive, described as of small proportions. Sampled examples include an apprentice miniature William and Mary secretaire cabinet, a barrister's bureau, a child's George III mahogany bureau and a table-top escritoire with a revolving tabernacle.

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Antique Bureau Cabinets

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A bureau cabinet is a writing desk with a fitted interior and drawers below, carrying a cabinet, glazed bookcase or mirrored top above, made to store papers behind a surface you can write on.