What timber are carved desks usually made from?

Oak, walnut and mahogany carry the category between them, and one of the three is named in the title of most listings. Oak leads across the sold archive on Sellingantiques. Burr walnut is the figured surface named most often. Satinwood, padauk and pollard oak appear in smaller numbers, and pitch pine turns up at the plainer end.

How old are most carved desks?

Dealer-entered dates run from 1750 to 1930. Victorian is the single largest label, with a further block given only as 19th century. Much of the rest is placed to a decade, the 1880s, 1900s and 1890s being the fullest. Edwardian pieces appear in modest numbers, and a handful of Georgian and pre-1700 entries sit at the far edge.

Do carved desks always have a leather top?

No. Leather is named in only a small fraction of titles, so the writing surface is more often left unstated than described. Where it is mentioned, it is an inset panel and occasionally tooled.

What is a Green Man desk?

A desk carved with the Green Man, a foliate mask used as decoration. It is the one carved subject that recurs across this category, named in a couple of dozen titles. These are almost always oak, and they appear far more often in the sold archive than among desks currently listed. The evidence names the motif and nothing about who cut it.

Which carved desks are the largest?

The double-sided ones. Partners desks and twin-pedestal forms are consistently the biggest pieces in the category, along with serpentine and kidney-shaped tops. Small single-pedestal desks and three-drawer oak desks sit at the other end. Titles rarely carry measurements, so size is usually read from the form named.

Are unusual or imported carved desks found in this category?

Yes, in a modest minority. Anglo-Indian, Chinese and Japanese carved desks turn up, along with French and Gothic revival work and Chippendale-style pieces. One-offs include a Japanese yosegi cylinder desk, a faux-bamboo partners desk, a folding Chinese hardwood desk and a bible box reading slope on a stand. Two samples pair a Japanese carved hardwood desk with its original chair.

Home > Desks > Carved Desk > Page 13

Antique Carved Desks

331 items · page 13 of 21

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Writing furniture of the 19th and early 20th centuries with carving worked into the carcase: pedestal and kneehole desks, davenports and flat writing tables, made to be looked at as well as written on.

Antique Ornate Small Carved Anglo-indian Padauk Inverted Breakfront Pedestal Sideboard

19th century

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Antique Ornate Small Carved Anglo-indian Padauk Inverted Breakfront Pedestal Sideboard

From London City Antiques

£3,495

FOR SALE

desks

Antique Victorian Burr Walnut & Inlaid Davenport Desk C.1860 19t Century

19th century

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Antique Victorian Burr Walnut & Inlaid Davenport Desk C.1860 19t Century

From Regent Antiques

£2,450

FOR SALE

desks

18th century

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Mahogany Kneehole Desk

From Midwinter Antiques

£3,500

FOR SALE

desks

Mahogany Chippendale Style Faux Partners Desk

1900 - 1920

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Mahogany Chippendale Style Faux Partners Desk

From Philip Hunt Antiques

£1,895

FOR SALE

desks

Antique Clerk's Desk, English, Leather, Partner, Home Office, Edwardian, C.1910

1900 - 1920

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Antique Clerk's Desk, English, Leather, Partner, Home Office, Edwardian, C.1910

From London Fine Antiques

£2,250

FOR SALE

desks

1900 - 1920

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Desk / Library Writing Table by Gillows

From Brookside Antiques

£995

FOR SALE

desks

19th century

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Waring and Gillows Knee Hole Desk

From Sinclairs Antiques and Interiors

£2,250

FOR SALE

desks

19th century

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19th Century Chinese Hardwood Desk.

From Patrick Moorhead Antiques

£9,500

FOR SALE

desks

Rare Circa 1880 Antique Howard & Son's Pollard Oak Patner Desk Oxblood Leather

19th century

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Rare Circa 1880 Antique Howard & Son's Pollard Oak Patner Desk Oxblood Leather

From Royal House Antiques

£5,500

FOR SALE

desks

1900 - 1920

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Edwardian Inlaid Mahogany Writing Desk

From Harrison Antique Furniture

£950

FOR SALE

desks

The most expensive carved desk ever sold on Sellingantiques was a mid 19th century Anglo-Indian padouk and satinwood davenport of large scale, in October 2022.

Fine Quality Victorian Mahogany Dickens Pedestal Desk

19th century

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Fine Quality Victorian Mahogany Dickens Pedestal Desk

From The Dorking Desk Shop

£3,200

FOR SALE

desks

19th century

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Japanned 19th Century Pedestal Desk, Attributed to Viardot.

From Patrick Moorhead Antiques

£18,000

FOR SALE

desks

19th century

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Early Victorian Walnut Desk.

From Antiques Online Ltd

£795

FOR SALE

desks

Victorian Burr Walnut Piano Top Davenport Desk

19th century

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Victorian Burr Walnut Piano Top Davenport Desk

From Harrison Antique Furniture

£2,650

FOR SALE

desks

19th century

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Edwards & Roberts Mahogany Desk

From John Howkins Antiques

£850

FOR SALE

desks

19th century

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Victorian Burr Walnut Pop Up Davenport

From John Howkins Antiques

£2,650

FOR SALE

desks

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Antique Carved Desks

Antique Ornate Small Carved Anglo-indian Padauk Inverted Breakfront Pedestal Sideboard

Antique Victorian Burr Walnut & Inlaid Davenport Desk C.1860 19t Century

Mahogany Kneehole Desk

Mahogany Chippendale Style Faux Partners Desk

Antique Clerk's Desk, English, Leather, Partner, Home Office, Edwardian, C.1910

Desk / Library Writing Table by Gillows

Waring and Gillows Knee Hole Desk

19th Century Chinese Hardwood Desk.

Rare Circa 1880 Antique Howard & Son's Pollard Oak Patner Desk Oxblood Leather

Edwardian Inlaid Mahogany Writing Desk

Fine Quality Victorian Mahogany Dickens Pedestal Desk

Japanned 19th Century Pedestal Desk, Attributed to Viardot.

Early Victorian Walnut Desk.

Victorian Burr Walnut Piano Top Davenport Desk

Edwards & Roberts Mahogany Desk

Victorian Burr Walnut Pop Up Davenport

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