What's the difference between a sideboard and a chiffonier?

A chiffonier is cupboard-based: a low case with one or two doors, commonly with a shelved or mirrored back above it. The Georgian and Regency sideboard is legged, a serving top over drawers, standing clear of the floor. They overlap in the trade. "Chiffonier sideboard" appears in over a hundred titles, and side cabinet, buffet, server and dresser base all describe pieces from the same shelf of furniture.

How many come up for sale each year?

Around 221 come to market in a year on Sellingantiques. The spread across the trade is wide. Some 222 different dealers have listed one, which works out at roughly a single piece per dealer rather than a handful of specialists holding the category.

Are small sideboards easy to find?

Compactness is one of the things the trade advertises hardest. "Small" appears in 152 titles, and "of small proportions", "neat proportions", "dwarf" and "miniature" all recur. Small pieces appear right across the range rather than only at one end of it. Large, by contrast, attaches to many of the dearest pedestal and breakfront examples.

Why are so many dated only to a century?

The dated field runs 1700 to 1960, and 822 listings carry a clean year. Everything else is a reign or century label, so a good half of the category is dated only as broadly as "19th Century", Regency, Victorian or Georgian. Titles and dates sometimes pull in different directions. An early 19th-century chiffonier described as circa 1840 can be filed under 18th Century, so the field is shorthand rather than a determination.

Do 20th-century copies of Georgian styles turn up?

They do, and in numbers. Roughly one in six pieces is revival or Edwardian work in an earlier style, with Georgian Style and Regency Revival both used as titles. The decade tags back that up. After the 1860s, 1800s and 1850s clusters come the 1900s and 1920s, so 20th-century pieces in earlier dress are a real presence here.

Is anything in the category not English?

Most of it is English mahogany. Scottish, Irish and Welsh origins are named only occasionally in titles. Continental entries are the rarest of all: a Biedermeier sideboard, a French Empire chiffonier, a Dutch marquetry commode and an 18th-century French ash-and-mahogany enfilade. At the very top of the range the pieces stop being English sideboards and become French ormolu-mounted commodes.

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Antique Mahogany Sideboards

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English mahogany dining-room furniture made for serving and storage: a side table or cupboard set against the wall, holding cutlery, linen and bottles close to the table.