19th Century Victorian Mahogany Serving Table Buffet

This is an antique Victorian mahogany serving table or buffet, circa 1850 in date. It is made from mahogany, has a moulded top with twin frieze drawers over two tiered shelves and is raised on beautiful scroll feet. This is a very unusual item and is sure to be appreciated by anyone with an eye for antique furniture. The item is not CITES pursuant. Condition: In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation of condition. Dimensions in cm: Height 109 x width 114 x depth 49.5. Dimensions in inches: Height 3 feet, 7 inches x width 3 feet, 9 inches x depth 1 foot, 7 inches. Mahogany is probably one of the largest ‘families’ of hardwood, having many different varieties within its own species. Mahogany has been used for centuries in ship building, house building, furniture making etc and is the core structure of just about every 19th century vanity box, dressing case or jewellery box. It became more of a Victorian trend to dress mahogany with these decorative veneers, such as rosewood, kingwood, burr walnut and coromandel, so that the actual mahogany was almost hidden from view. Mahogany itself is a rich reddish brown wood that can range from being plain in appearance to something that is so vibrant, figured and almost three dimensional in effect. Although mahogany was most often used in its solid form, it also provided some beautifully figured varieties of veneer like ‘Flame’ mahogany and ‘Fiddleback’ mahogany (named after its preferred use in the manufacture of fine musical instruments). Cuban mahogany was so sought after, that by the late 1850s, this particular variety became all but extinct.