What is the difference between a bureau and a secretaire?

In practice the words track the fall. Bureau usually describes the English sloping fall on a chest of drawers; secretaire tends to be used for vertical-fall chest forms, and appears in 42 titles. The vocabulary is unsettled, though. The same basic object gets called a bureau, a secretaire, an escritoire (29 titles), an abattant (16) or a bureau de dame (12) depending on the dealer writing it up.

Which timbers are most common?

Two carry the category almost between them. Mahogany appears in 138 titles and walnut in 126, with oak third at 67 and rosewood well behind at 14. Walnut turns up in its figured forms as well: 'burr' is in 24 titles and 'burr walnut' in 20. Mulberry wood surfaces only three times across the sample.

How old are most of these bureaux?

The dated field spans 1700 to 1930. Eighteenth-century and Georgian attributions together are the largest block by a wide margin, and a handful of samples are labelled 17th Century or even 'Before 1700'. There is also a clear early-twentieth-century tail, with 1920s, Edwardian and 1900s entries, taking in Arts and Crafts and later revival work. A period name in a title is not always a date. Queen Anne style, William and Mary style and Jacobean style are all used as style descriptions.

Are French and Dutch examples listed?

Yes. 'French' appears in 26 titles and 'Dutch' in 18, with Dutch marquetry named in 12. Continental pieces make up something between a tenth and a fifth of the category. Samples also throw up Swedish, Italian, Portuguese, South German, Norwegian, Biedermeier and Venetian bureaux, most of those only once or twice.

What does bureau de dame mean?

It is a small lady's writing bureau, lighter in build and more decorated than the standard form. Twelve titles use the term, and another eight say 'ladies'. These are frequently French, and rosewood or marquetry is a recurring note in the group.

Do unusual variants come up?

They do, roughly one apiece across the sample: a corner bureau, a table-top bureau, an apprentice miniature secretaire cabinet, a seventeenth-century vargueño on stand, a campaign military bureau in padouk and a bureau-form metamorphic drinks cabinet. Around 48 fall-front bureaux are listed a year on Sellingantiques, and 151 different dealers have offered one, so the odd shapes surface steadily.

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Antique Fall Front Bureau

436 items · page 18 of 28

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A case piece with a hinged fall that drops to make a writing surface, over drawers or a cupboard, with pigeonholes and small drawers behind it.

18th century

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Rare Marquetry- Inlaid 18th Century Italian Walnut Bureau Cabinet

From Georgian Antiques

£9,750

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

1900 - 1920

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Mahogany Inlaid Bureau Bookcase

From Shackladys Antiques

£2,975

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

18th century

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George II Mahogany Bureau Bookcase

From Shaun King Antiques

£5,850

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

18th century

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18th Century Norwegian Carved Oak Bureau Bookcase

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£9,450

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

C19th Continental Secretaire Abbattant for Restoration

19th century

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C19th Continental Secretaire Abbattant for Restoration

From I M Chaney Antique Furniture

£300

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

19th century

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19th Century Walnut and Kingwood Bureau De Dame

From Martlesham Antiques

£4,450

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

19th century

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Stunning Large Dutch Marquetry Inlaid Bureau

From John Howkins Antiques

£5,250

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

18th century

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George III Inlaid Mahogany Bureau

From Hingstons of Wilton

£1,475

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

19th century

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Early 19th Century Mahogany Astral Glazed Bureau Bookcase

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£2,995

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

18th century

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Late 18th Century Georgian Walnut Bureau

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£2,995

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

Among the one-offs to pass through: a corner bureau, a table-top bureau, an apprentice's miniature secretaire cabinet, and a bureau-form metamorphic drinks cabinet.

19th century

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19th Century Mahogany Escritoire

From Martlesham Antiques

£4,950

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

18th century

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Early 18th Century Walnut Bureau

From Holmes Antiques

£2,800

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

18th century

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Superb Early 18thc Walnut Bureau Bookcase

From Helios and Co Antiques

£8,950

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

18th century

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Georgian Walnut Bureau

From Brookside Antiques

£895

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

18th century

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Early C18th Walnut Veneered Bureau

From I M Chaney Antique Furniture

£495

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

19th century

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Victorian Rosewood and Inlaid Ladies Writing Bureau

From Y Not Antiques

£1,895

3+ MONTHS AGO

bureau

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Antique Fall Front Bureau

Rare Marquetry- Inlaid 18th Century Italian Walnut Bureau Cabinet

Mahogany Inlaid Bureau Bookcase

George II Mahogany Bureau Bookcase

18th Century Norwegian Carved Oak Bureau Bookcase

C19th Continental Secretaire Abbattant for Restoration

19th Century Walnut and Kingwood Bureau De Dame

Stunning Large Dutch Marquetry Inlaid Bureau

George III Inlaid Mahogany Bureau

Early 19th Century Mahogany Astral Glazed Bureau Bookcase

Late 18th Century Georgian Walnut Bureau

19th Century Mahogany Escritoire

Early 18th Century Walnut Bureau

Superb Early 18thc Walnut Bureau Bookcase

Georgian Walnut Bureau

Early C18th Walnut Veneered Bureau

Victorian Rosewood and Inlaid Ladies Writing Bureau

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