Why are so many console tables sold in pairs?

Pairs are characteristic of the form. Consoles were made to flank a fireplace, a doorway or a pair of windows, so they left the workshop two at a time. On Sellingantiques about one listing in eight is a pair rather than a single, and pairs of half-round mahogany consoles are the commonest matched offering.

What wood are they usually made from?

Mahogany leads, appearing in roughly a third of titles. Walnut, oak and rosewood follow it. Beyond those, satinwood, burr walnut and flame mahogany veneers turn up regularly. Cast iron, wrought iron, steel, slate, granite and pietra dura all appear too, though wood accounts for the overwhelming bulk.

How old are most console tables on the market?

The dated field runs from 1700 to 1960. Nineteenth Century is the single biggest label, with Eighteenth Century behind it. Style and reign labels sit alongside the centuries, Georgian, Regency and Victorian among them, and decade labels from the 1880s to the 1930s. Treat any of these as the range the dealer chose rather than a precise dating. The edges stretch further: 17th-century oak and Spanish walnut at one end, 1930s Art Deco and a French ebonised pair of the 1960s at the other.

Do console tables always have marble tops?

No. Marble turns up in around one title in ten, so the wooden top is far more usual. Where marble does appear it's often on French or Italian consoles, and named marbles like rouge Languedoc or Sienna show up occasionally.

Is a card table the same as a console table?

Not the same thing, but the two overlap in listings. A fold-over card table closed up stands flat against a wall and does a console's job, so dealers catalogue it here. Card, tea and games tables together account for roughly a tenth of titles, and a larger share of current stock.

What does demi-lune mean?

Half-round. The top is a semicircle with the straight edge set against the wall. It's the one named shape with real weight in this category, about 396 listings, and it's very often mahogany and very often a pair.