What wood are dressing stools usually made from?

Walnut and mahogany between them account for over half the titles, 136 and 115 respectively. Rosewood is a distinct third at 34, and oak is uncommon at 18. The show woods widen at the upper end. Burr and figured walnut, satinwood, birds-eye maple, satin birch and goncalo alves appear in the upper half of the range, and ebonised and giltwood finishes turn up as well.

Is a dressing stool the same as a piano stool?

Frequently, yes. One in twelve listings is titled as a piano stool and one in fifty as a music or organ stool, and titles like "Regency Music or Dressing Stool" describe a single object two ways. The overlap is practical. A low upholstered seat of this size works at a dressing table, at a keyboard, by a fire or under a window, and dealers title it for whichever use they expect.

How old are most of these stools?

The dated field runs 1750 to 1940. Where decades are given they cluster between 1860 and 1900, with the 1880s the fullest at 27 listings. The interwar years are well represented too: 42 listings dated to the 1920s and 31 to the 1930s. Pre-1800 stools appear but are scarce. Nearly a third of the record sits under "19th Century" or "Victorian", neither of which pins a decade.

Does a Queen Anne or Georgian title mean an early stool?

Not on its own. Many titles say "style", "revival" or "in the manner of", and those revival stools are dated 1880 to 1930 in the samples. They form their own group, walnut with cabriole legs for the most part, and they sit in the middle of the range rather than at the top.

Why are pairs priced above single stools?

Pairs appear in 28 titles and almost every one sits in the upper half of the range. A set of four early-19th-century dressing stools or window seats turns up once, the largest group in the whole archive. Swedish stools, 11 titles in all, are commonly offered in pairs and mostly at the upper end.

What unusual forms turn up in this category?

Beyond the standard upholstered stool, the archive holds a Chinese Qing dynasty carved huali stool doubling as a window seat, a grotto style stool and a coronation stool. Carved decoration accounts for the rest of the oddities: a rams-head stool, and an X-frame window stool carved with hunting dog heads. Around 44 dressing stools are listed a year on Sellingantiques, across 151 different dealers.