What wood are most occasional tables made from?

Mahogany names three in ten titles, more than walnut, oak and rosewood combined. Walnut comes next, then oak, then rosewood. Smaller streams run through the archive as satinwood, burr walnut and marble-topped tables, with amboyna, calamander, kingwood, coromandel and pollard oak appearing at the upper end.

Which periods do these tables come from?

The dated field spans 1700 to 1960. Victorian and Edwardian label more of them than any other period, with Georgian and Regency close behind. Much of the dating is era labelling rather than a year, and '19th Century' is the single largest bucket. Pre-1700 pieces turn up only as isolated examples, such as a 17th-century oak table and a William and Mary side table.

What is a wine table?

A small table with a circular top, usually raised on a pillar, meant to stand beside a chair with a glass on it. The word names 250 titles. It sits in a whole family of tables named for what they carried: lamp tables, work tables, candle stands, kettle stands, urn stands, tea poys and bookstands.

Are occasional tables usually signed or stamped?

No. Only four maker names clear three dealers apiece across the archive, so an attributed occasional table is the exception. Where a name does appear, it can be stamped, carried on a paper label, or offered only as an attribution or 'in the manner of'.

What are nests of tables?

Graduated sets that stack one inside another, named in 171 titles. Sets of three are the familiar version, sometimes called quartetto nests. Sets of four and five are recorded too, in Chinese hardwood, walnut and mahogany. A complete nest sits above a single table in the range.

Do French and Indian examples turn up?

Both, steadily. French decorative tables account for roughly one listing in fifteen, bringing gueridons, ormolu mounts, marble tops and marquetry, alongside Swedish, Dutch and Biedermeier pieces. The Anglo-Indian stream has its own place-names, among them Hoshiarpur, Bombay Presidency, Burma and Ceylon, with elephant-carved and bone-inlaid tables recurring. Syrian, Damascus, Moorish and Chinese hardwood examples sit alongside them.