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Antique Questions Forum / Re: Mahogany dining table with brass inlays

« on: July 18, 2014, 12:21:45 pm »

Thank-you for your reply, Mart.  Yes, this is a draw leaf table; the photos showing the underside reveal the extension arms.  The previous photos make the top look quite different from the sides/legs when, in fact, it is not very different.  The incandescent flood lighting over the table makes it look that way.  The side photos were lit from a window -- completely different colour temperature.  I've pulled the table nearer to a window and have taken two more photos using just the outdoor lighting.

Yes, the leaves are natural grain.  It appears they've simply been stained and varnished.

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Antique Questions Forum / Mahogany dining table with brass inlays

« on: July 17, 2014, 09:21:33 pm »

I've just purchased a mahogany table that has brass trim inlay. The top is book-matched and has a bit of a striped look. (If it was a guitar top, it would be called a "sunburst" -- dark and a bit of a red tone around the outside, goldish in the middle.) As you walk around it, the dark stripes go light and the light stripes go dark. I suspect there is a name for that effect, but I have no idea what it is (chatoyancy?).

There are pull-out extensions at either end. Their surfaces actually don't match the table top. They look like the same kind of wood, but are brown. (See table3.jpg)

The table top is actually removable simply by lifting it up. There is a peg on each side of the table top, mid-span, that sets into a hole in a panel directly below. There are three sub-panels, the outer two of which are the extensions. (See bottom, right of table4.jpg)

The three panels just below the table top are each stamped with a three-digit number. The top, right of photo "table-4.jpg" there is a stamp with the number "103". But I notice that the number "1" is drawn with an exaggerated "up-swoop" on the left side to the top. I've only ever seen this number written this way by Europeans. So, I'd guess that this piece was either imported from Europe, brought over from Europe by immigrants, or the stamps were brought over from Europe. (Yeah, everyone is a detective!  ).

I'd like to re-surface it. Because of the way the pattern changes as I walk around it, I'm guessing that the grain is not "painted on", but that it is real wood (even if just veneer). Someone has applied a coat of... mmmm.... I'll say Varathane or something similar, but did a horrible job (not completely covered, brush strokes, and embedded hair  ) as shown in the photos of "table2.jpg".

I would very much appreciate any help in determining the approx. age (I'm guessing it was built in the 1940's), the name of the style, as well as any thoughts/recommendations you might have.

Thanks much in advance.