Are serpentine desks Georgian?

A few are. The dated field runs back to 1750, but only two listings carry a 1750s date, and one sample is labelled simply Georgian. The great majority are late Victorian to inter-war, with the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s carrying most of the weight. The serpentine front was an eighteenth-century idea revived in quantity around 1900.

What wood are they usually made from?

Mahogany and walnut, and little else. Mahogany appears in 41 of the 92 titles, walnut in 34, and 28 of those walnut listings specify burr. Everything else is a small tail: single examples in pine, oak, rosewood and painted satinwood account for almost the whole remainder.

How many come up for sale?

About nine a year on Sellingantiques, and 51 different dealers have listed one. That spread tells you something. It is a category almost nobody stocks in depth, so pieces arrive one at a time rather than in runs.

Does the curve go round the sides too?

Usually not. The phrasing that dominates the titles is 'serpentine fronted', and only one sample in the whole archive says 'serpentine sided'. So the shallow S-curve is a front-facing feature, with straight sides behind it.

Which examples sit at the top of the range?

Partners desks, double-sided for two people facing each other, occupy most of the upper end despite being a small group. The highest is a large carved figured mahogany one. Size and figure count for a great deal alongside that. Large burr walnut pedestal desks and flame or figured mahogany examples run well above plainer work.

Are writing tables included under this heading?

Yes. Around one in ten listings is a leg-supported writing table with shallow frieze drawers rather than a pedestal desk, in burr walnut or mahogany. Two davenports and a bureau de dame have also come through, along with a French bureau plat in kingwood marquetry. Continental pieces turn up once in a blue moon.

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A writing desk with its front cut in a shallow S-curve, usually a kneehole or pedestal desk with a leather-inset top, made for the study or the drawing room.