What wood are they usually made from?

Walnut leads the record, named in 68 of 233 titles, with burr walnut in 24 of those. Rosewood comes next, then mahogany. Other materials turn up in smaller numbers: specimen wood tops made up of many named timbers, marble including a Devonshire example, papier-mâché in three ebonised or painted mid-century tops, and bone inlay on the North Indian pieces.

Are chess tables only for chess?

Often not. Of the titles on Sellingantiques, 92 mention games, and backgammon appears in 19. Cards and cribbage show up too. A reversible or sliding top is the usual arrangement, with the chequer on one face and backgammon or a baize card surface below. A further group combines the boards with a fitted sewing well, sold as a games and work table.

How old is a typical one?

The dealer dates run from 1750 to 1930. Victorian and "19th Century" together account for most of the record, so a lot of the dating is only precise to a century. Regency forms the next block, with 27 listings. Where a decade is given, the 1860s is the busiest with 23, followed by the 1880s with 21.

What are Damascus and Hoshiarpur chess tables?

They're the Middle Eastern and North Indian seam of this category. Damascus, Syrian and Levantine tables typically combine card, chess and backgammon surfaces under dense inlay. Hoshiarpur is a North Indian centre for bone-inlaid furniture, and several octagonal chess tables in the archive come from there. Kashmir marble appears once. All of this work sits high in the range.

How many come up for sale each year?

About 23 a year on Sellingantiques, listed by 104 different dealers over the life of the archive. That means almost every dealer who handles the form handles one at a time, rather than a stock of them.

Do nests of tables count as chess tables?

A handful in this archive are Regency quartetto sets: four graduated tables, with the smallest carrying the chess board. They turn up only occasionally, and they're catalogued under the same heading as the standing chess-top tables.