What is a wine table used for?

Small tripod and pedestal tables of this size came into general use in England in the eighteenth century as movable stands beside a chair, holding a candle, a kettle, a glass or a decanter. The name itself is largely a later trade description for the smallest examples. Candlestand and kettle stand turn up in a handful of titles for the same object.

Why are they also called lamp or occasional tables?

Because dealers list one table under several names. Occasional appears in 369 titles, lamp in 312 and side in 249, and many listings use two or three of those words about a single piece. The form underneath is the same: a small top on a turned column and three feet.

Which wood is most common?

Mahogany, by a distance. It appears in 962 titles, with oak, walnut, rosewood and satinwood trailing well behind. Elm, yew, amboyna, thuyawood, olive-wood, birch root and cherrywood each surface only a handful of times, usually on country tables or continental work.

How old are most of these tables?

The dated field runs from 1750 to 1940. Only 672 of 2,073 listings carry a clean year, so era labels do most of the work. Georgian, Victorian, Regency and Edwardian all appear in quantity, and the labels overlap. Twentieth-century stock is substantial, meaning a meaningful slice of the category is revival work rather than period.

Are French wine tables different?

They are a distinct strand, if a small one, with 86 titles saying French. Vendange or wine-tasting tables were made low, for the grape harvest, in cherrywood, walnut and oak. Alongside them come marble-topped bistro tables and guéridons, the French small round pedestal table.

Do they come in pairs?

Yes. Pair appears in 109 titles, covering matched pairs and near pairs, and nests of three, four and five stacking quartetto tables also turn up. Pairs and nests appear disproportionately at the upper end of the range.

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Antique Wine Tables

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A wine table is a small pedestal or tripod table, usually under a couple of feet across, made to stand beside a chair and hold a glass, a decanter, a candle or a kettle.